Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 425,930 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 69,679 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of Ross Stores worth $64,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.53.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of ROST stock traded up $1.34 on Monday, hitting $154.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,896,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,644,849. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $135.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.65. The company has a market cap of $50.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 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. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.