Pitcairn Co. Sells 1,296 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Pitcairn Co. trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,905 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,296 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 13,227 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,001,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 77.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,262 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Ross Stores by 278.7% during the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,040 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 6,653 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 45,476 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,879,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 93,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,101 shares of company stock valued at $2,300,905 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One 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, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $132.37 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.32. The company has a market cap of $43.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

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.