Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 345,671 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,728 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned 0.11% of Ross Stores worth $44,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 50.7% during the 1st 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 period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% during the 1st 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 period. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.06.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Ross Stores
Ross Stores Trading Down 0.9%
ROST traded down $1.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $137.18. 930,655 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,097,479. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.71. The firm has a market cap of $44.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.
Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.
Ross Stores Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.59%.
Ross Stores Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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