Assetmark Inc. Acquires 201 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 73.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $72,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $124.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap 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’s 50 day moving average is $142.85 and its 200 day moving average is $146.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.77 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

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.