Primecap Management Co. CA Lowers Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,364,825 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 171,142 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores accounts for 1.2% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,567,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $125.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.26 and a 200 day moving average of $146.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.77 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROST. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

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.