Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 62.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 505,734 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 838,515 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $76,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $1,479,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Ross Stores by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 774 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Ross Stores by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 61,620 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $9,321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 426,704 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $64,548,000 after buying an additional 73,774 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $127.79 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $137.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.59. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $42.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during 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, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.