Intellectus Partners LLC Buys Shares of 4,745 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Intellectus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,745 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.4 %

ROST opened at $135.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The firm's fifty day moving average is $145.37 and its 200 day moving average is $147.49. The stock has a market cap of $44.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

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Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given 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 price target of $163.07.

Ross Stores Company 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.

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