Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 256,238 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,897,307 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 256,238 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.88% of Ross Stores worth $438,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Hahn Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $11,203,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,152,690,000 after buying an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $17,524,000 after acquiring an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ROST traded up $0.26 on Friday, reaching $140.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 757,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,336. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $133.36 and a 200-day moving average of $142.68.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 1.16%. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROST. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on 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. Five equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores 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.