Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,410,724 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 32,035 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.43% of Ross Stores worth $213,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $295,857,000 after purchasing an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 261.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 6,734 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 4,871 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,531 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Ross Stores by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 250,311 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $37,674,000 after buying an additional 77,617 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.2% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 63,186 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $9,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST traded up $2.62 on Friday, reaching $141.51. 4,388,458 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,653,630. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $133.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.18. The stock has a market cap of $46.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.67.

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.