Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 10,581 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 16.1%, acquiring an additional 10,581 shares and bringing its total to 76,227 shares valued at approximately $9.74 million.
• Analysts have recently revised their ratings for Ross Stores, with several reports indicating a shift to a "hold" rating and price targets ranging from $150.00 to $170.00, reflecting mixed sentiment in the market.
• Ross Stores reported $1.47 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a year-on-year revenue increase of 2.6% to $4.98 billion.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,227 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 10,581 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,958 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 104.8% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,014 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,535,000 after acquiring an additional 6,148 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 377.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,265 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,791 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 7.8% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,085 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% during the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,607,872 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $205,470,000 after purchasing an additional 86,063 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.3%

Ross Stores stock traded up $0.47 on Friday, hitting $137.01. 2,220,593 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,327,187. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $44.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $134.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.52. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.06.

Ross Stores 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.