Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by Boston Partners

Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,624,295 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 104,463 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 0.49% of Ross Stores worth $245,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Hahn Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $11,203,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $17,524,000 after buying an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Ross Stores Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of ROST traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $123.54. The company had a trading volume of 6,659,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,426,242. The company has a market capitalization of $40.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The company's fifty day moving average price is $139.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.63.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 1.31%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "negative" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.