Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 25,443 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,022,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 25,443 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $605,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.4 %

ROST opened at $142.64 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $145.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.50.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores 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.