Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 34,102 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 68.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,674 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 34,102 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 4,787.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $94,783,000 after purchasing an additional 616,860 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $86,732,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 59.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $183,263,000 after buying an additional 469,717 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.8 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $148.61 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $150.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

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.