Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Corient Private Wealth LLC

Corient Private Wealth LLC cut its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 103,977 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 14,244 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $15,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $392,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Ross Stores by 11.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 179,632 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,036,000 after buying an additional 18,801 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 39.9% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,639 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’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 directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROST. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $125.95 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $41.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.77 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $141.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.01.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 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.