Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $269,000 in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired 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 Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,802 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Violich Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $265,000. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. Eukles Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 16,247 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,953 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,565,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $4,901,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.2 %

ROST stock traded down $1.68 on Monday, reaching $138.76. 2,350,592 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,229,993. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.95. The company has a market cap of $45.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

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.