Northern Trust Corp Buys 386,838 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,572,823 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 386,838 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.08% of Ross Stores worth $540,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Ross Stores by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after buying an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,250,423,000 after acquiring an additional 135,117 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,152,690,000 after acquiring an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $575,647,000 after purchasing an additional 154,486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $141.66. The stock had a trading volume of 558,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,646,589. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $133.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.46.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.87.

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.