Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,330 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,869 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. Hahn Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $11,203,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after buying an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $269,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after acquiring an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.7 %

ROST stock opened at $141.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.40. The stock has a market cap of $46.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the business’s 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 $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.