Tidal Investments LLC Sells 1,794 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Tidal Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,138 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,794 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Hahn Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $11,203,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 274.3% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,096,000 after buying an additional 14,998 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after acquiring an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $154.24 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last released 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.53.

About Ross Stores

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.