United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Invests $3.39 Million in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 15,928 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,390,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cooper Financial Group lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.8% during the second quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,309 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 954 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 1,421 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $228.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $73.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $233.95 and a 200 day moving average of $223.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $143.39 and a 12 month high of $257.00.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%.The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $294.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ross Stores from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.76.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off?price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand?name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.