T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $867.55 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,735,096 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 13,725 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.74% of Ross Stores worth $867,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total value of $672,979.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 93,126 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,892,190.20. The trade was a 5.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.34 during trading on Monday, reaching $139.38. 874,423 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,007,981. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50 day moving average is $133.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.68.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share 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 was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.87.

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.