Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $655.76 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,738,517 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 251,035 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.41% of Ross Stores worth $655,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in Ross Stores by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 919 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,133 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.6% during the third quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 5,309 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 961 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.11.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $133.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,946,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,067,755. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.68. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.

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