Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. cut its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,348 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 12,504 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Ross Stores worth $24,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 274.3% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 14,998 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after buying an additional 807,850 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $17,221,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Ross Stores by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,276,799 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $193,141,000 after buying an additional 377,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth $328,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $136.44. The stock had a trading volume of 2,311,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,569. The company has a market cap of $44.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.22.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.94.

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.