Savant Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $139.55 on Thursday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $150.50 and its 200 day moving average is $148.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ROST. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

About Ross Stores

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.