Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,182 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth $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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price 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. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.40.

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Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.9 %

ROST stock traded up $2.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $127.79. 3,318,252 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,563,517. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.77. The company has a market capitalization of $42.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

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.