E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Has $1.02 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 86.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,760 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,139 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $135.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $145.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.49. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $44.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.07.

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.