Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 674 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,527 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $7,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after buying an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted 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 acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,881,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted 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 worth $4,440,000 after purchasing an additional 26,598 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $138.76 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.95.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

Ross Stores 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.