Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 63,682 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,958,515 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 63,682 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.20% of Ross Stores worth $598,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $360,204,000 after buying an additional 2,352,543 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,204,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $173,329,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,101 shares of company stock valued at $2,300,905 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $132.37 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $43.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price objective 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

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.