Synovus Financial Corp Sells 451 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Synovus Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,619 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 451 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $360,204,000 after buying an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $230,204,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $173,329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 137.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 worth $4,439,950 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $143.66 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $47.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $133.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.87.

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.