Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Bought by Treasurer of the State of North Carolina

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,757 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $22,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 261.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 6,734 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 4,871 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,582 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,523 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 177,622 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,734,000 after purchasing an additional 10,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value 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 $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ROST opened at $138.89 on Friday. 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 market cap of $45.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $133.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.26. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 1.17%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ROST. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.67.

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.