Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 137.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.60% of Ross Stores worth $299,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after buying an additional 67,861 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after buying an additional 34,475 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,025,309,000 after buying an additional 316,652 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $588,337,000 after buying an additional 14,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $154.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,882,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,822,838. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $148.20 and a 200-day moving average of $147.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

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.