Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Buys 160,590 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 571.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,698 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 160,590 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Ross Stores worth $28,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 25.7% in 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 last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $360,204,000 after buying an additional 2,352,543 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,204,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 411.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,458,963 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $220,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173,607 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.87.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $138.93. 2,342,686 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,660,846. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $45.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $133.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.58.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. Equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

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.