Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $2.97 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,617 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 777 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $495,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,995 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $11,203,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,509 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,615,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.12.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.0 %

ROST opened at $138.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.03 and a 200-day moving average of $147.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

Ross Stores Company 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.