Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Buys New Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,526 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 39.9% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,639 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $59,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $2,462,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 lowered 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.40.

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Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $128.13. The stock had a trading volume of 3,660,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,433,196. 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 50-day simple moving average of $139.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.