Teza Capital Management LLC Has $4.59 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Teza Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 257.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,348 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 21,864 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises approximately 0.7% of Teza Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Teza Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at $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 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ROST. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Evercore ISI dropped 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. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.53.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded down $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $154.24. 2,166,600 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,644,477. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $50.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $136.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 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.