HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. by 26.6%, acquiring an additional 4,152 shares, bringing their total to 19,734 shares valued at approximately $2.52 million.
• Ross Stores reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.56 for the recent quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $1.54, while also achieving a 4.6% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 25.59%.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 26.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,734 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% during 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. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Loop Capital cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.00.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ROST traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $147.45. 3,371,596 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,268,398. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $158.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.11. The firm has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.71%.

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.