GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Buys Shares of 62,876 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 62,876 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $9,511,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,952,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $575,647,000 after purchasing an additional 154,486 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.9%

ROST traded up $4.03 on Tuesday, reaching $141.29. 7,566,824 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,705,594. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $138.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.94. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $46.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. 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 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 the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. 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 firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.59%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.