Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Position Increased by State Street Corp

State Street Corp raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned approximately 4.26% of Ross Stores worth $2,127,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.69.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $157.42. 580,119 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,329,865. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.88. 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 company has a market cap of $52.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 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.