Maverick Capital Ltd. Makes New Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Maverick Capital Ltd. invested approximately $1.03 million in Ross Stores, acquiring 8,083 shares during the first quarter.
• Ross Stores declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405, with an ex-dividend date of September 9th and an annualized yield of 1.1%.
• Recent earnings data revealed that Ross Stores' EPS was $1.56, slightly exceeding analysts' estimates, and the company reported a 4.6% year-over-year revenue increase.

Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,033,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,458 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,359,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.67.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of ROST stock traded down $1.86 on Friday, hitting $150.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,438,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,281,008. The firm has a market cap of $49.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50-day moving average is $140.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.79. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $158.69.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

About Ross Stores

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.