EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 35.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 753 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 196 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $295,857,000 after purchasing an additional 151,255 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $392,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 61.3% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,567 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $988,000 after buying an additional 2,495 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 64.2% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,039 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Ross Stores by 11.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 179,632 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,036,000 after acquiring an additional 18,801 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $123.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.70 and a 200 day moving average of $146.15. 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 12 month low of $122.77 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. 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 dividend yield of 1.31%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ROST. UBS Group cut their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

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.