Jensen Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Jensen Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 40,800 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,172,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $360,204,000 after buying an additional 2,352,543 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $230,204,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Ross Stores by 64.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $173,329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $124.21 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.53. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.77 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

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.