Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 7,085 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 20.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,013 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,085 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 93.8% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,034 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 11,149 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,786 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 161.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 674,085 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $76,138,000 after purchasing an additional 416,431 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 56.0% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 11,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,046 shares during the period. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.8% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 11,492 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $1.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $145.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 750,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,289,317. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.30 and a 52-week high of $151.12. The company has a market cap of $48.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $139.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.06.

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.