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

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,819 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $23,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment 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, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.9 %

ROST opened at $123.54 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a P/E 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.67.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.