Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 42.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,276,799 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 377,554 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.39% of Ross Stores worth $193,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.73.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $142.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $134.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

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.