Sarasin & Partners LLP Acquires Shares of 573,358 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 573,358 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $86,732,000. Ross Stores makes up approximately 1.0% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned about 0.17% of Ross Stores as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ROST. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.29.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $149.15. 3,011,200 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,873,334. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $150.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $49.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

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.