Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,094 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 10,037 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $16,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $11,203,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after buying an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $17,524,000 after buying an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.71. 2,289,826 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,668,112. The stock's 50-day moving average is $133.37 and its 200-day moving average is $142.68. 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 $45.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.