American Century Companies Inc. Trims Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 955,499 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 41,475 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $144,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’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 transaction of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $123.54 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $40.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $139.96 and its 200 day moving average is $145.59.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

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.