GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Acquires New Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 62,876 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $9,511,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.53 during trading on Thursday, hitting $140.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,507,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,700,075. The stock has a market cap of $46.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.90. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm 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%. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 25.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.67.

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.