E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. Purchases 482 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 24,100.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 484 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $73,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $149.28 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $49.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $151.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.93. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.15%.

Ross Stores Company 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.