Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 133,005 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,673,823 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 133,005 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,102,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,360,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,101 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 59.3% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $518,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,815 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,997,575 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $510,850,000 after purchasing an additional 192,148 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,912,392 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $372,134,000 after purchasing an additional 15,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,971,294 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $251,912,000 after purchasing an additional 21,473 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $161.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $154.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $165.07.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research began coverage on Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Erste Group Bank began coverage on Ross Stores in a report on Friday, October 31st. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.53.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at $13,169,865.15. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. Company insiders own 2.20% 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.