Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Purchases New Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,034 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,215,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after buying an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $360,204,000 after buying an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $230,204,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 411.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,458,963 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $220,697,000 after buying an additional 1,173,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ROST stock traded up $1.41 on Tuesday, hitting $140.78. The company had a trading volume of 2,165,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,661,998. The firm has a market cap of $46.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50-day moving average is $133.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.20% 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.