Modera Wealth Management LLC Acquires 905 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,247 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $11,203,000 after acquiring an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.6 %

ROST opened at $135.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $44.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $146.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.70. 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 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Ross Stores Company 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.