California Public Employees Retirement System Has $79.47 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 525,375 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 55,081 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $79,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its stake 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 valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in Ross Stores by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.3% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,460 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 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 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’s 50-day moving average is $137.38 and its 200-day moving average is $144.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROST. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents 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 accessible through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores 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.