Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Position Raised by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1,354.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,301 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,987 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores makes up approximately 0.6% of Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $11,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 note 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.06.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $0.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $151.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,648,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,264,619. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $50.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $141.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two week high of $153.06.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

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.