JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Has $329,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,174 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $329,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $142.28 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $46.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $134.02 and its 200-day moving average is $142.31.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. 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 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.