Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,501 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,880 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROST. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.5 %

ROST stock opened at $123.71 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.77 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $141.70 and its 200 day moving average is $146.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $40.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

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.