True Wealth Design LLC Sells 354 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

True Wealth Design LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 55.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 289 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 354 shares during the quarter. True Wealth Design LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after buying an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $360,204,000 after buying an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $230,204,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $504,684,000 after buying an additional 1,368,571 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $152.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.63. The company has a market cap of $50.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% 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 valued at $4,439,950 in the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.