Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Holdings Increased by First American Trust FSB

First American Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the quarter. First American Trust FSB’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 63.1% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,120 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 5,848 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 16.1% in the third quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,651 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 65.2% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 83,214 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $12,525,000 after purchasing an additional 32,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $129.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.