Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 117,173 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 805,949 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 117,173 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $121,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 83,337 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $12,606,000 after buying an additional 13,312 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,479,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 774 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 61,620 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $9,321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,590 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.5 %

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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.32.

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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ROST. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. This represents a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,101 shares of company stock valued at $2,300,905 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.