UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Sells 547 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,661 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 547 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $295,857,000 after purchasing an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.7% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $481,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Ross Stores by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 690 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $127.70 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $138.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.14. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

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