Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Buys Shares of 11,549 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,549 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,476,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 50.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 36.6% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ROST. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.94.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $131.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,343,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,796,219. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $138.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.59%.

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.