Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $66.31 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 438,373 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,180 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Ross Stores were worth $66,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 8,553 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 19,555 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,962,000 after purchasing an additional 2,928 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 57,899 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,758,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,624,295 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $245,701,000 after purchasing an additional 104,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $1,138,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $125.95 on Thursday. 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 market capitalization of $41.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $141.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.01. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.77 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results 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. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. 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 1.29%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.