Teca Partners LP Purchases 3,899 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Teca Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,098 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,899 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores makes up approximately 8.8% of Teca Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Teca Partners LP's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $13,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Ross Stores by 62.2% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 734,540 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $111,114,000 after purchasing an additional 281,707 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 278,567 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $42,139,000 after buying an additional 14,956 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10,614.2% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 257,249 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $38,914,000 after buying an additional 254,848 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $32,705,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 41,717 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $6,311,000 after purchasing an additional 16,171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $3.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $138.51. The company had a trading volume of 656,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,657,117. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The firm's 50 day moving average is $133.40 and its 200-day moving average is $142.74. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. Five investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.87.

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.