Horizon Investments LLC Has $939,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after purchasing an additional 34,475 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after purchasing an additional 316,652 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,337,000 after buying an additional 14,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in 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 valued at $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $125.95 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $141.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.01. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.77 and a 1 year 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 firm has a market capitalization of $41.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released 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. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

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.