Diversified Trust Co Lowers Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Diversified Trust Co lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 90.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,653 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 15,793 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,741 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 147.4% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 318,166 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $46,236,000 after acquiring an additional 189,558 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 143.0% in the 2nd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 14,483 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 8,524 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 611,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $89,103,000 after purchasing an additional 14,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 39.3% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,781 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $151.74 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $50.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.67.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.29.

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.