Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Takes $49,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 383 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $14,914,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,410,724 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $213,400,000 after acquiring an additional 32,035 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,747 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 2,030 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 311.5% in the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 59,446 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after acquiring an additional 45,000 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 236,262 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,739,000 after acquiring an additional 25,970 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $137.01 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.06.

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.