Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Peachtree Investment Partners LLC

Peachtree Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,496 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 617 shares during the quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 501.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 256,896 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,861,000 after acquiring an additional 214,209 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $575,647,000 after purchasing an additional 154,486 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 236,262 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,739,000 after purchasing an additional 25,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 311.5% during the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 59,446 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after purchasing an additional 45,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 dropped their target price 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 reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.00.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $127.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $135.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.80. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.