Aigen Investment Management LP Acquires 2,123 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Aigen Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 26.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,206 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,123 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,930,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 73.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 10,039 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,582,472 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $541,921,000 after purchasing an additional 142,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 5,026 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $135.97 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

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.