Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Position Increased by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 35,199 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $295,857,000 after acquiring an additional 151,255 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 91.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 3,664 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 153,583 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $23,116,000 after purchasing an additional 6,580 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in Ross Stores by 475.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,566 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Ross Stores by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,454,000 after buying an additional 16,248 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROST. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $130.31 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 stock has a market capitalization of $42.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $135.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.07.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

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.