Slow Capital Inc. Sells 6,695 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Slow Capital Inc. lessened its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,510 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 6,695 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores makes up about 1.2% of Slow Capital Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $10,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,762,583 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,487,720,000 after acquiring an additional 180,182 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 9.9% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 4,747,639 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $605,704,000 after purchasing an additional 426,370 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,655,932 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $709,518,000 after purchasing an additional 252,284 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,045,346 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $616,470,000 after purchasing an additional 375,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshfield Associates lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.1% in the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 4,020,413 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $612,671,000 after purchasing an additional 157,385 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $221.97 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.49 and a 12-month high of $226.63. The company has a market capitalization of $71.51 billion, a PE ratio of 33.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $209.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The business had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.29.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at $22,331,883.20. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.