Marshfield Associates Has $588.34 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Marshfield Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 14,193 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises about 12.5% of Marshfield Associates' portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Marshfield Associates owned about 1.18% of Ross Stores worth $588,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 724.1% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 21,833 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 917.2% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,440,000 after purchasing an additional 26,598 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,523 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $7,454,000 after purchasing an additional 16,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $397,747,000 after purchasing an additional 254,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST traded down $0.47 on Tuesday, reaching $155.77. 2,228,713 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,347,760. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $51.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $145.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.42. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Ross Stores's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ROST. UBS Group upped their target price on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.69.

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.