Prudential Financial Inc. Has $28.78 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 190,258 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 33,678 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $28,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $295,857,000 after purchasing an additional 151,255 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,651 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 83,214 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $12,525,000 after buying an additional 32,846 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.7% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 62,361 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $9,386,000 after acquiring an additional 6,499 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $128.13 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $139.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.26. The company has a market capitalization of $42.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued 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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.