8,861 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Purchased by E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,861 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $521,159,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $351,763,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1,908.8% during the third 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 during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Ross Stores by 20.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,582,401 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Ross Stores by 30.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.3%

Ross Stores stock opened at $215.80 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.07 and a 52 week high of $216.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.65, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.57.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.445 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $199.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research cut Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group set a $208.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total transaction of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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.