XTX Topco Ltd Acquires Shares of 10,530 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,530 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,593,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $360,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $230,204,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $173,329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % 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 valued at $4,439,950. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $139.63. 2,287,417 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,662,945. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $133.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.81. The firm has a market cap of $45.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

About Ross Stores

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.