Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Dark Forest Capital Management LP trimmed its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 42.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,643 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,202 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ROST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.87.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $140.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $133.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.64. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Ross Stores Company 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.