GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 1,180 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 31.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Ross Stores by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after purchasing an additional 975,190 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Ross Stores by 4,787.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $94,783,000 after purchasing an additional 616,860 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 59.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $183,263,000 after purchasing an additional 469,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,007,528 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $291,734,000 after buying an additional 390,518 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $154.25 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.20 and a 200 day moving average of $147.51. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $50.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

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.