Wealthfront Advisers LLC Invests $10.46 Million in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 49,159 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,463,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.3% during the first quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 1,421 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.7%

Ross Stores stock opened at $234.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.86. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.39 and a fifty-two week high of $257.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $234.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.46.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.The business’s revenue was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 24.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $242.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.76.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.