Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 4,139 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,426 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,139 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 4.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $149.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business's 50-day moving average is $134.24 and its 200-day moving average is $142.35. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.20.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.20% 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.

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