Sei Investments Co. Has $37.38 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sei Investments Co. reduced its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 35.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 247,075 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 133,772 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $37,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 31,444 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,757,000 after acquiring an additional 9,813 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $1,893,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 438,373 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $66,313,000 after buying an additional 30,180 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 8,553 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 19,555 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,962,000 after buying an additional 2,928 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ROST shares. Loop Capital cut their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of ROST opened at $129.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.