Vise Technologies Inc. Purchases 2,993 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 82.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,612 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,993 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,995,760 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $360,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $230,204,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Ross Stores by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $504,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,571 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.67.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1%

ROST traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $138.74. 844,238 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,700,853. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a market cap of $45.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The business's 50 day moving average is $139.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.88.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, 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 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.