State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $8.01 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,484 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,660 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. City Holding Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 162.6% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total value of $3,398,371.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total value of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ROST opened at $220.95 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.49 and a 52 week high of $226.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $207.34 and a 200-day moving average of $184.51.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.93%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.