Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Acquires 10,037 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,094 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 10,037 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $16,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hahn Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $11,203,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after buying an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $2.32 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $138.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,039,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,655,819. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.64.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.87.

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.