Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,145,828 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,145,828 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $173,329,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.35% of Ross Stores as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.07.

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Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded down $1.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $135.96. 4,252,671 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,583,287. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $145.37 and a 200 day moving average of $147.49. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $44.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 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 1.19%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.