Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Position Lifted by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 10,614.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 257,249 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 254,848 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.08% of Ross Stores worth $38,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.9% in 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 during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ROST. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Loop Capital cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.87.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of ROST stock traded up $1.54 during trading on Thursday, reaching $139.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 684,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,021,970. The company has a market capitalization of $45.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $133.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.68.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.16%. 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. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 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.