Empirical Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,583 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $149.15 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $150.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ROST. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.29.

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.