Pathstone Holdings LLC Decreases Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Pathstone Holdings LLC lowered its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,819 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 4,167 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $12,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $360,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,543 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $230,204,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 411.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,458,963 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $220,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173,607 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.53.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $154.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,896,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,644,849. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.