China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 2,750 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 50.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at about $86,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 59.7% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,428,447 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $182,541,000 after buying an additional 17,723 shares during the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 17,823 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,278,000 after buying an additional 1,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 67,019 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $8,564,000 after buying an additional 6,050 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $131.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,211,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,799,296. The firm's 50-day moving average is $138.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $42.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.94.

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.