KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases Shares of 113,844 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 113,844 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $17,221,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $360,204,000 after buying an additional 2,352,543 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $230,204,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $173,329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $123.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $139.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.59. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores 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.