Compass Ion Advisors LLC Sells 244 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Compass Ion Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 8.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 151,255 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $392,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,567 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,039 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.7% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $123.71 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $141.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.15. The stock has a market cap of $40.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.77 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. 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.