B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Reduces Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,111 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,250 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,101 shares of company stock valued at $2,300,905. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $132.37 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $136.63 and a 200 day moving average of $144.32. The company has a market capitalization of $43.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 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.