Pinebridge Investments L.P. Raises Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 44.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,712 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 18,546 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 434.1% in 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 last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.87.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $139.71. 2,289,826 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,668,112. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.68. The company has a market capitalization of $45.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given 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 was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 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.