Synovus Financial Corp Sells 21,365 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Synovus Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,070 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 21,365 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 97.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $153.53 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. 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 company has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.37 and a 200 day moving average of $146.82.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

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.