Covestor Ltd Raises Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 155.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 419 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $62,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,699 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $41,832,000 after buying an additional 16,167 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,333 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,412,000 after acquiring an additional 10,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Capital Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 909,527 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $125,869,000 after acquiring an additional 443,932 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $142.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.08. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $153.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.66.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.