Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Bought by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 82.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,697 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 38,701 shares during the period. Ross Stores accounts for 0.9% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $11,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 458.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rock Creek Group LP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.21.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ross Stores news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ROST traded down $0.18 on Friday, reaching $139.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,524,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,039,736. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.14. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Ross Stores

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.