Board of the Pension Protection Fund Makes New Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,000 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after buying an additional 34,475 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,025,309,000 after buying an additional 316,652 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $588,337,000 after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% during the third 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $149.01. 2,365,637 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,203,902. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $149.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.73. 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 market capitalization of $49.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.29.

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.