Fmr LLC Grows Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Fmr LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 316,652 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned 2.05% of Ross Stores worth $1,025,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 3.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,440,272 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $517,795,000 after purchasing an additional 129,908 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Ross Stores by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $397,747,000 after buying an additional 254,720 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,477,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $359,991,000 after acquiring an additional 331,996 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after acquiring an additional 975,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,131,529 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $312,756,000 after purchasing an additional 69,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $154.89 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $51.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.