Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,382 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,399 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 57,899 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $8,758,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in Ross Stores by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,624,295 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $245,701,000 after acquiring an additional 104,463 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $1,138,000. Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 6,210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $124.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $140.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.86. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.77 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $41.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

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.