Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $2.16 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,286 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 515 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the 3rd 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. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,214 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.29.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $149.15 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $49.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

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.