Evoke Wealth LLC Has $1.29 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Evoke Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,519 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth $392,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,567 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $988,000 after acquiring an additional 2,495 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 64.2% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,039 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 179,632 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,036,000 after purchasing an additional 18,801 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.5 %

ROST stock opened at $123.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.77 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.70 and a 200-day moving average of $146.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

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.