Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 1,198 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,503 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $124.21 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $142.85 and a 200-day moving average of $146.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.77 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

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.