Wellington Management Group LLP Raises Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 64.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 1.16% of Ross Stores worth $581,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 675,190 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $101,623,000 after acquiring an additional 93,941 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.8% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 7,989 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $5,343,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 80.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 742,300 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $111,724,000 after purchasing an additional 330,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after buying an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $156.48 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $145.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.88. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $51.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

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.