Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lessened its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 88.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,448 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 11,650 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $152.92 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $135.64 and its 200-day moving average is $142.61. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $50.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ROST. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.53.

Ross Stores 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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