Lbp Am Sa Makes New $1.13 Million Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Lbp Am Sa purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,454 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,128,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.1% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc boosted its position in Ross Stores by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.7 %

ROST opened at $124.21 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.77 and a 12 month high of $163.60. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $142.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.53.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. On average, research analysts expect 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 positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

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.