Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Cuts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,337 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,450 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 3,286 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,936 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $217,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Finally, JLB & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 125,267 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,336,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROST. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.06.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $141.81. The stock had a trading volume of 738,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,248,938. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $144.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.78. The firm has a market cap of $47.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.08. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.35 and a 1 year high of $153.06.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The business had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $130,206.17. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.