Fmr LLC Has $1.15 Billion Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Fmr LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,152,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $360,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,543 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,204,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $173,329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.00.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $130.31 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $135.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.