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) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,454 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,128,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.7 %

Ross Stores stock 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 PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $142.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.53. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.77 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

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.