Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stake Increased by Wahed Invest LLC

Wahed Invest LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,989 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PGGM Investments boosted its position in Ross Stores by 724.1% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 21,833 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 917.2% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after purchasing an additional 26,598 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Ross Stores by 47.5% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Ross Stores by 10.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $397,747,000 after purchasing an additional 254,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 7.8% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 144,310 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $21,720,000 after purchasing an additional 10,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of ROST opened at $156.61 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $145.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.88.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ROST. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.