Fund 1 Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 1,875 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Fund 1 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,875 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $149.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,658,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,654,843. The company has a 50-day moving average of $134.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.35. 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 fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $49.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The firm 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.20.

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.