Cullinan Associates Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Cullinan Associates Inc. lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,667 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ROST. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $146.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $151.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.95. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $48.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Ross Stores Company 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.