Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $3.22 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 14.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,927 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,710 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $523,185,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 515.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $243,135,000 after buying an additional 1,471,585 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1,437.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,026,367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $142,039,000 after acquiring an additional 959,594 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $102,083,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Ross Stores by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $653,600,000 after acquiring an additional 601,031 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ ROST traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $140.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,853,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,259,735. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $153.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.79, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $143.89 and a 200 day moving average of $141.66.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.06.

About Ross Stores

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.