Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Makes New $2.47 Million Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,337 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after buying an additional 34,475 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,025,309,000 after buying an additional 316,652 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $588,337,000 after buying an additional 14,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $138.40. 1,123,059 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,257,859. The firm has a market cap of $45.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.85.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Seven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.06.

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.