Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 2,928 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,555 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,928 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 57,899 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,758,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in Ross Stores by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,624,295 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $245,701,000 after purchasing an additional 104,463 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $1,138,000. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 6,210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $123.71 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $141.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.77 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.82 billion, a P/E 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 data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 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.