United Asset Strategies Inc. Takes $690,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

United Asset Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 4,747 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $690,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 23,229 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 961 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 7,033 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,464 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $150.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $145.73 and its 200-day moving average is $142.60. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

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.