Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Lowers Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,996 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 216 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $360,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,543 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Ross Stores by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $173,329,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Ross Stores by 4,787.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,783,000 after purchasing an additional 616,860 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $124.21 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $142.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.53. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.77 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.