Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 411.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,458,963 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,173,607 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.44% of Ross Stores worth $220,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.2 %

Ross Stores stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $140.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 757,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,336. The company has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.68.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business'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 $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.87.

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.