Truist Financial Corp Cuts Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Truist Financial Corp lessened its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,132 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 18,735 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $11,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 7,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. City Holding Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1,080.0% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.9%

ROST opened at $224.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $72.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $124.49 and a one year high of $231.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $217.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.73.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 26.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ROST shares. Zacks Research downgraded Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.