AlphaMark Advisors LLC Acquires 192 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,307 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROST. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 66.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 12,884 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,872,000 after buying an additional 5,131 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 6.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $2,603,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,815 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,489,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $149.28 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $49.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $151.12 and its 200 day moving average is $147.92.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.