Arizona State Retirement System Sells 1,151 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 95,272 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,151 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $13,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $41,832,000 after purchasing an additional 16,167 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $503,000. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth approximately $205,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.7% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 673,713 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $76,096,000 after acquiring an additional 30,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $8,322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

ROST opened at $139.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 26.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

About Ross Stores

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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.