AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Invests $922,000 in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,215 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $922,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 valued at $2,952,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $575,647,000 after buying an additional 154,486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.94.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock traded up $1.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $135.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,036,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,813,684. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $44.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $136.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.38.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Ross Stores's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.59%.

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.