National Bank of Canada FI Sells 11,347 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 238,964 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 11,347 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.07% of Ross Stores worth $36,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Ross Stores by 0.3% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,460 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced 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. 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 research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total value of $672,979.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,101 shares of company stock valued at $2,300,905 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $132.37 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.32. The company has a market capitalization of $43.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for 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%. Research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio 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.