Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $1.26 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,349 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 917.2% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,440,000 after purchasing an additional 26,598 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 251.7% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 260,126 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $39,152,000 after purchasing an additional 186,161 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 48.8% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,454,000 after purchasing an additional 16,248 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $149.15 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.80. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.29.

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.