California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 570,626 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 20,078 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $86,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 14.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,182,660 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,998,924,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,954 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $521,159,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1,908.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,816,763 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $276,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726,324 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,222,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,669,876 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $468,203,000 after purchasing an additional 849,391 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $207.96 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $216.80. The firm has a market cap of $67.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Evercore increased their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price target on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total transaction of $546,753.96. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 103,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,234,874.95. This represents a 2.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off?price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand?name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.