LPL Financial LLC Sells 149,831 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

LPL Financial LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 38.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 243,270 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 149,831 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Ross Stores worth $36,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $360,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $230,204,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Ross Stores by 64.0% in 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $173,329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $125.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.85.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ROST. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

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.