Raiffeisen Bank International AG Takes Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,570 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,952,170,000 after buying an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $360,204,000 after buying an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,204,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 411.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,458,963 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $220,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173,607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital cut their target price on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.53.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $154.24. 2,166,600 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,644,478. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.83.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

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.