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

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring 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 reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the first quarter worth $86,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 59.7% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Eukles Asset Management boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 9.7% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 9.9% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $130.86. The stock had a trading volume of 3,142,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,812,081. The firm has a market cap of $42.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Ross Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ROST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Barclays reduced 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 reduced 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced 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. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.