Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Fenimore Asset Management Inc

Fenimore Asset Management Inc cut its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,611,370 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 5,286 shares during the period. Ross Stores accounts for approximately 5.1% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $243,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,524,000 after buying an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 917.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,440,000 after purchasing an additional 26,598 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 251.7% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 260,126 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $39,152,000 after purchasing an additional 186,161 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $149.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization 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 quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $151.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.92. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 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.