Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 989 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Shell Asset Management Co. cut its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,750 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 989 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,349 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 5,583 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 264.5% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,944 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 5,039 shares during the period. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $152.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $135.64 and a 200-day moving average of $142.65.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.