Madison Investment Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 1,521,809 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,521,809 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $230,204,000. Ross Stores accounts for 2.6% of Madison Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Madison Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.46% of Ross Stores as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $295,857,000 after purchasing an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $53,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.5% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,479 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $392,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $126.52 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.97. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $126.44 and a one year high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued 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. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 1.28%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 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.