Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. cut its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 235,904 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,905 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Ross Stores worth $35,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROST. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.20.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $149.33 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.40. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week 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. The company has a market cap of $49.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Ross Stores Company 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.