Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 555 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,008 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 555 shares during the quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $575,647,000 after purchasing an additional 154,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.20.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $149.33 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $134.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $49.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.