Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Bought by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,325 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $15,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,587 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $86,732,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 35,058 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,303,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,524,000 after acquiring an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lowered 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $149.79 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $49.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $150.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.88. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

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.