Meeder Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 84.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,460 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 97,013 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,904 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,535 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $9,262,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,460 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Ross Stores by 478.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 400,204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $60,235,000 after acquiring an additional 331,007 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $125.42 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $137.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.77. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $41.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

About Ross Stores

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.