Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 9,004 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,446 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 9,004 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $22,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $11,203,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $139.63. 2,287,417 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,660,164. The company has a market capitalization of $45.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.94. 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 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend 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.