Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 736,574 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 70,124 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $111,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $124.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.77 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

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.