Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Has $2.49 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,955 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 122 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 93.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,034 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 11,149 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,786 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 161.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 674,085 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $76,138,000 after purchasing an additional 416,431 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8,847.4% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 13,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 13,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 56.0% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 11,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,046 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $130,206.17. Following the transaction, the director now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.3 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $144.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.04 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $139.13 and its 200-day moving average is $140.58. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.30 and a fifty-two week high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

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.