Howard Capital Management Inc. Buys 284 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,589 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $136.61 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

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.