Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Holdings Boosted by F M Investments LLC

F M Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,451 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 5,396 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $7,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST traded down $2.36 on Tuesday, hitting $141.30. 933,614 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,649,946. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $133.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $46.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. This is a positive change 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%.

About Ross Stores

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.