Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Takes $2.47 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,337 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 28.5% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 62.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,219 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,194,000 after buying an additional 8,120 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 296.9% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,687 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 158.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,530 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,434,000 after buying an additional 5,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of ROST stock traded down $1.68 on Friday, hitting $138.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,350,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,296,336. The company has a market cap of $45.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.90. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.06.

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.