Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 4,539 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,552 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,539 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 23,229 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 961 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 93.0% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 7,033 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Ross Stores by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,464 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $150.61 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.35 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

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.