Fmr LLC Increases Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Fmr LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 316,652 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,025,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 42.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 63,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $9,260,000 after buying an additional 18,685 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,041 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 135.2% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,557,000 after acquiring an additional 13,931 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 37,844.4% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,830 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 6,812 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at approximately $16,130,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital raised their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $154.89 on Thursday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $145.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $51.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. 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.