Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Stephens Investment Management Group LLC

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,453 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 857 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $21,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $33,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROST. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $142.59 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.96.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company 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 firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

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.