Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 121,584 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,419,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 121,584 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.33% of Ross Stores worth $633,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 231.1% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,161 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 5,696 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $244,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 24.6% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,967,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,675,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.2 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $153.53 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.70. 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 company has a market cap of $50.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.15%.

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.