Optimize Financial Inc Boosts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Optimize Financial Inc increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 53.0%, owning 5,157 shares valued at approximately $659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares.
• A variety of hedge funds, including Golden State Wealth Management and Bayforest Capital, have also enhanced their positions in Ross Stores significantly during the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed reviews on Ross Stores, with a consensus target price of $160.67 and a majority rating it as a Moderate Buy, while some firms have recently amended their price objectives.

Optimize Financial Inc grew its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 53.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,157 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Optimize Financial Inc's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $151.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $158.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $140.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.87.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.71%.

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.

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