Boston Partners Acquires 104,463 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,624,295 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 104,463 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.49% of Ross Stores worth $245,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at $392,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 61.3% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,567 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 2,495 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 64.2% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,039 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 11.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 179,632 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,036,000 after purchasing an additional 18,801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $123.71 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.77 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $40.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $141.70 and its 200 day moving average is $146.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target 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, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.