Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Bought by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 42.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,276,799 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 377,554 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $193,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.8 %

ROST opened at $142.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $134.02 and its 200-day moving average is $142.35. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.73.

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.