Raymond James Financial Inc. Increases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 21.5%, acquiring a total of 1,392,475 shares valued at approximately $177.94 million.
• Ross Stores reported $1.47 earnings per share for its latest quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, and noted a 2.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $1.62 and a yield of 1.1%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,392,475 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 246,648 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.42% of Ross Stores worth $177,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 274.3% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 14,998 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,276,799 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $193,141,000 after acquiring an additional 377,554 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at about $328,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,516,000. Finally, Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,476,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ROST opened at $146.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.14. The firm has a market cap of $48.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.06.

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.

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