Quest Partners LLC Buys Shares of 7,581 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Quest Partners LLC 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 and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,581 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,049,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $465,563,000 after acquiring an additional 673,670 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $523,185,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,677,191 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $415,339,000 after purchasing an additional 68,518 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,229,488 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $251,821,000 after purchasing an additional 95,386 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,215,353 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $250,224,000 after buying an additional 247,513 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.11.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.78 on Tuesday, hitting $132.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,272,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,103,627. The business's fifty day moving average price is $137.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.42. The stock has a market cap of $44.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.66 and a 52-week high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The firm's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.