The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $40.92 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,488 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 4,530 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.08% of Ross Stores worth $40,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 505,465 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $76,462,000 after buying an additional 100,843 shares during the last quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 12,412 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,878,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 616.6% in the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 21,526 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,256,000 after buying an additional 18,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus ETF Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth $1,215,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ross Stores from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1 %

Ross Stores stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $141.27. 304,810 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,643,879. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $133.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.40. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $46.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.