9,779 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Bought by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp bought a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,779 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,479,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 63.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 774 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 61,620 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $9,321,000 after buying an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 426,704 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $64,548,000 after acquiring an additional 73,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $5,647,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.00.

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Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % 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 ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $130.31. The stock had a trading volume of 5,568,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,590,918. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $135.91 and a 200 day moving average of $144.07. The company has a market capitalization of $42.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

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.