Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $2.97 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,617 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $495,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Ross Stores by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,995 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $11,203,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,509 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,615,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $286,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $138.64 on Thursday. 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 current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.64.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.12.

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.