Mariner LLC Grows Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,229 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Mariner LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded up $2.40 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $137.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,522,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,664,373. 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 $45.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The business's fifty day moving average price is $133.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Ross Stores 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.