Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 256,238 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,897,307 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 256,238 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.88% of Ross Stores worth $438,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $139.63 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $133.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.84.

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. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last three months. 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.