Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 646,688 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 12,021 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Ross Stores were worth $97,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,043 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 46,018 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,961,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 47,527 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,189,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Eight investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $138.76 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $149.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

About Ross Stores

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.