Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Position Lifted by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,892,289 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,813 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $286,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth 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 increased its position in Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $649,318,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $575,647,000 after buying an additional 154,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,582,472 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $541,921,000 after buying an additional 142,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $139.63 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.84. The company has a market cap of $45.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.87.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,892,190.20. The trade was a 5.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.