Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Position Trimmed by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co decreased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,964 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $825,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $41,832,000 after acquiring an additional 16,167 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at $503,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.7% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 673,713 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $76,096,000 after acquiring an additional 30,056 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at $8,322,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 275,721 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,157,000 after acquiring an additional 29,053 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $139.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $145.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $46.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.