Family Firm Inc. Purchases New Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 303 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 154.5% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $2.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $155.21. 5,124,334 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,241,586. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.35 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $145.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.