Castleview Partners LLC Cuts Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Castleview Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,808 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,143 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,059 shares of company stock valued at $3,768,677 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.3%

ROST opened at $127.67 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $140.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.53.

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.