Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,550 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 4,226 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,952,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,250,423,000 after buying an additional 135,117 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after acquiring an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $575,647,000 after buying an additional 154,486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $142.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,727,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,652,518. The firm has a market cap of $46.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. 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. The company's 50 day moving average price is $133.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.37.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.14%. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.73.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last 90 days. 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.