Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,536 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 12,391 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.8%

Ross Stores stock traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $151.89. The stock had a trading volume of 2,369,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,652,483. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $134.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.45.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company's Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.