Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by Louisbourg Investments Inc.

Louisbourg Investments Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 44.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,465 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 5,090 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 158.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,530 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 5,843 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $795,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 59,913 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $9,017,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $138.76. 2,350,592 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,229,993. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $149.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $45.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

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.