Bellwether Advisors LLC Has $1.14 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Bellwether Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 68.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,530 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 16,098 shares during the quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 505,465 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $76,462,000 after acquiring an additional 100,843 shares in the last quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 12,412 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 616.6% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 21,526 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,256,000 after purchasing an additional 18,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus ETF Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

ROST traded down $0.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $138.93. 2,342,686 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,660,846. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $133.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $45.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The business 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.87.

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.