Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Position Raised by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,589 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $269,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after buying an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,881,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 44,822 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,780,000 after buying an additional 4,334 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $136.61 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $45.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.95.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

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.