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

Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,595 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $123.71 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $141.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.77 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a market cap 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.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. 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.