Stevens Capital Management LP Buys New Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,694 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,013,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "negative" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ ROST traded down $1.05 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $128.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,660,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,433,196. 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 capitalization of $42.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $139.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.42.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.