Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 4,909 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 148,275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 4,909 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $22,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its position in Ross Stores by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.3% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,460 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.9 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $127.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $42.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $137.38 and a 200 day moving average of $144.59. 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 data 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. 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 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.