Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,819 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $23,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 19,555 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,928 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 57,899 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $8,758,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Ross Stores by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,624,295 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $245,701,000 after acquiring an additional 104,463 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,138,000. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of ROST opened at $123.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $139.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. 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 one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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