Pitcairn Co. Sells 1,296 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Pitcairn Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,905 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,296 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $649,318,000. Marshfield Associates raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,337,000 after buying an additional 14,193 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,101 shares of company stock valued at $2,300,905 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $132.37 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.63 and a 200 day moving average of $144.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $43.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

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.