Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by RWA Wealth Partners LLC

RWA Wealth Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,156 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 398 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 83,337 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $12,606,000 after buying an additional 13,312 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,479,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 774 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in Ross Stores by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 61,620 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $9,321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,590 shares during the period. Finally, denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued 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 dropped 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, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $127.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $137.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $42.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

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.