2,110 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Purchased by R Squared Ltd

R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,110 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Ross Stores by 66.2% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 12,884 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,131 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,603,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $421,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 58,471 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $8,497,000 after buying an additional 4,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $321,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.3 %

ROST stock opened at $147.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $151.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.89. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

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.