Argentarii LLC Takes $790,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Argentarii LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,226 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $790,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after purchasing an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after purchasing an additional 34,475 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after acquiring an additional 316,652 shares in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,337,000 after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 64.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Loop Capital dropped 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. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.07.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $135.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $145.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.49.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. 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 25.63%.

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.