Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by GS Investments Inc.

GS Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 920 shares during the period. Ross Stores makes up 2.1% of GS Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hahn Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $11,203,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,524,000 after acquiring an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ROST. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $125.95 on Thursday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.01. The stock has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.77 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. 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 payout ratio is 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.