6,415 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Bought by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $979,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 917.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after acquiring an additional 26,598 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,454,000 after purchasing an additional 16,248 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 251.7% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 260,126 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $39,152,000 after purchasing an additional 186,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,967,000 after buying an additional 4,008 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $154.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.66. The company has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.29.

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.