Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,830 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 618 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,127,802,000 after purchasing an additional 67,861 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,222,915,000 after purchasing an additional 34,475 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after purchasing an additional 316,652 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates grew its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,337,000 after purchasing an additional 14,193 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $126.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.44 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $144.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered 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 note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

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.