Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,000 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,700 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Ross Stores by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 5.6% during the first quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.1% during the first quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 9,200 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 29,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,490,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of Ross Stores 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. This trade represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,567 shares of company stock valued at $2,812,024 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $127.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.72.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Barclays cut their target price on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.53.

Ross Stores 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.