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

Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,595 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,127,802,000 after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,222,915,000 after buying an additional 34,475 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after buying an additional 316,652 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates raised its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,337,000 after buying an additional 14,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Ross Stores by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $123.71 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.77 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $141.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released 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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.