Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ROST. Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.67.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST traded down $0.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $142.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,612,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,117,194. The company has a market cap of $46.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.91. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.59%.

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.