Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Takes Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 518 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $78,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,252 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 40,164 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,076,000 after purchasing an additional 7,680 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Ross Stores by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 26,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,961,000 after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 33,859 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,122,000 after buying an additional 4,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 576,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $88,930,000 after buying an additional 38,970 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their price target 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock opened at $125.42 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.77. The company has a market capitalization of $41.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.