United Asset Strategies Inc. holds a $690,000 position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

United Asset Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST – Free Report) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,747 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $690,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 23,229 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 961 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 7,033 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,464 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s shares.

Ross stores trade down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $150.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $145.73 and its 200-day moving average is $142.60. Ross Stores, Inc. it has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05, and a current ratio of 1.56.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST – Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted earnings of $1.32 per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross store dividend announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.47 and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10. Ross Stores’ payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Inside activity at Ross stores

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed via this link. 2.10% of shares are owned by corporate insiders.

The Wall Street analyst weighs in

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd . Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71, according to MarketBeat.

Check out our latest research report on ROST

Ross Stores Company Profile

(Free report)

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates discount clothing and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brands in the United States. Its stores mainly offer clothing, accessories, footwear and home fashion. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell their products in department and specialty stores for middle-income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell their products at department and discount stores for moderate income households.

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