Independent Advisor Alliance Has $819,000 Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 69.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,416 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 64.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $173,329,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in 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 during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4,787.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,783,000 after acquiring an additional 616,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,732,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $124.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.55. The stock has a market cap of $40.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.77 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change 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 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus 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.