Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Takes Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,803 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,914,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in Ross Stores by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in Ross Stores by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,895 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded down $1.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $131.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,996,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,734,097. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $43.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14. The business's fifty day moving average price is $141.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.51. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 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 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ROST. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.53.

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.