Czech National Bank Has $9.69 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 75,791 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,858 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 664,621 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $84,932,000 after acquiring an additional 17,933 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,215 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 16,435.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 806,099 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $103,011,000 after acquiring an additional 801,224 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.6% during the first quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 249,470 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,880,000 after acquiring an additional 11,010 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 7.1% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $1.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $143.80. 1,496,438 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,702,226. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $141.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 25.59%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 value of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.67.

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.