Payden & Rygel Buys 600 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Payden & Rygel grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 119,800 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores accounts for about 1.6% of Payden & Rygel’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $360,204,000 after buying an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $230,204,000. 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 acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $173,329,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $130.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $135.91 and a 200-day moving average of $144.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.00.

Ross Stores 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.