Allstate Corp Purchases Shares of 9,779 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 9,779 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,479,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $360,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,543 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $230,204,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 worth $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $173,329,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $125.42 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $137.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.77. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.