Rafferty Asset Management LLC Purchases 13,421 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,705 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,421 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,250,423,000 after acquiring an additional 135,117 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after acquiring an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $575,647,000 after acquiring an additional 154,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group dropped 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.53.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $151.89 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.51. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $49.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.