Townsquare Capital LLC Has $8.23 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 8.7%, acquiring an additional 5,141 shares, bringing its total to 64,384 shares worth $8,228,000.
• Ross Stores reported quarterly earnings of $1.47 per share, beating analysts' expectations of $1.44, and had revenue of $4.98 billion, which was higher than the anticipated $4.94 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, which represents an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 25.59%.

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,384 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,141 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,360,413,000 after acquiring an additional 4,946,101 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,572,823 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $540,461,000 after purchasing an additional 386,838 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $504,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,571 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,897,307 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $438,283,000 after acquiring an additional 256,238 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $159.06.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of ROST stock traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $146.49. 2,399,337 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,404,815. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $134.63 and a 200 day moving average of $137.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $47.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 2.78 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.59%.

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.