Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $2.03 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,825 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 90,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,224,000 after purchasing an additional 7,796 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 16,168 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,826,000 after acquiring an additional 2,495 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 31,766 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,588,000 after acquiring an additional 4,034 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,170,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 93.8% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,034 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 11,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ROST. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $145.32 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $138.68 and its 200-day moving average is $140.42. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.30 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The company has a market capitalization of $48.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.