AdvisorShares Investments LLC Raises Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,245 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,952,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 135,117 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% in the fourth 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 in the fourth quarter worth about $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 4.2% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $140.78 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.64. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $46.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores 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.