First Trust Advisors LP Has $220.70 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 411.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,458,963 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,173,607 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.44% of Ross Stores worth $220,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 10.6% in 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 in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target 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. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $1.71 during trading on Thursday, hitting $139.93. 2,484,893 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,045,711. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $133.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.68. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.