Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,892,289 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 17,813 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.57% of Ross Stores worth $286,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ROST stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,006,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,659,183. The company has a market capitalization of $45.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $133.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.68.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share 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 $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.63%.

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.