Freestone Grove Partners LP Purchases Shares of 681,560 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 681,560 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $103,100,000. Ross Stores makes up approximately 1.3% of Freestone Grove Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.21% of Ross Stores as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $141.40. 420,922 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,972,635. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $133.64 and a 200-day moving average of $142.40. 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 stock has a market cap of $46.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.