Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Position Lowered by Burney Co.

Burney Co. lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,966 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 2,696 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 19,180 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $287,000. TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 850,876 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $128,712,000 after acquiring an additional 198,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,557 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.4%

Ross Stores stock traded up $1.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $138.33. 1,644,056 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,566,151. The company's 50-day moving average is $135.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $45.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion during 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, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 25.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup raised Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.94.

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.