DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 7,005 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 596,656 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 7,005 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $87,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,916,192 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,243,740,000 after purchasing an additional 346,474 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,931,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $682,511,000 after buying an additional 161,202 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $653,600,000 after buying an additional 601,031 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $523,185,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,085,590 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $452,841,000 after buying an additional 78,423 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded down $2.73 on Friday, hitting $140.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,363,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,861,235. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $144.89 and its 200-day moving average is $141.90. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two week high of $153.06. The company has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The business had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROST. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, June 14th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.06.

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.