Independent Advisor Alliance Grows Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 69.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,416 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,221 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. State Street Corp increased its position in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,127,802,000 after purchasing an additional 67,861 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,222,915,000 after purchasing an additional 34,475 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,025,309,000 after purchasing an additional 316,652 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates increased its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $588,337,000 after purchasing an additional 14,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Ross Stores by 64.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $2.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $125.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,330,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,398,130. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.77 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.70 and a 200-day moving average of $146.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

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.