Rhumbline Advisers Increases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 664,621 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 17,933 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.20% of Ross Stores worth $84,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.67.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1%

Ross Stores stock traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.80. 1,496,438 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,702,226. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $141.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.95. The company has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.