Wahed Invest LLC Boosts Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,989 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 779 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $5,343,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 80.3% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 742,300 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $111,724,000 after acquiring an additional 330,500 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,127,802,000 after acquiring an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 16.2% in the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 42,302 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,367,000 after acquiring an additional 5,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 48.8% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,454,000 after acquiring an additional 16,248 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. 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. Finally, Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $156.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.58 and a 200-day moving average of $145.88. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior 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. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

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.