Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 159,116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,868 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $22,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 19.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $465,563,000 after purchasing an additional 673,670 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,677,191 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $415,339,000 after purchasing an additional 68,518 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,077,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,655,000 after acquiring an additional 44,722 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,229,488 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $251,821,000 after acquiring an additional 95,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 12.6% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,215,353 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $250,224,000 after acquiring an additional 247,513 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $133.77 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $45.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $143.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.01.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The business’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total value of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.