12,513 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Purchased by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,513 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,893,000. Ross Stores makes up 0.7% of Blueshift Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,127,802,000 after purchasing an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,222,915,000 after buying an additional 34,475 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,025,309,000 after buying an additional 316,652 shares in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $588,337,000 after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $5.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $129.18. 4,208,277 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,433,370. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $139.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.42. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $42.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.40.

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.