Assetmark Inc. Increases Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 73.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $72,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth $392,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,567 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 141,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $21,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,708 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.7 %

ROST opened at $124.21 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.60. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.77 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $40.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

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.