LPL Financial LLC Sells 46,115 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Ross Stores by 19.0%, selling 46,115 shares and now owning a total of 197,155 shares worth approximately $25.2 million.
• Ross Stores reported earnings per share of $1.47 for the recent quarter, surpassing expectations and posting a revenue of $4.98 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 25.59%.

LPL Financial LLC lowered its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 19.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 197,155 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 46,115 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Ross Stores worth $25,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Ross Stores by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after buying an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $575,647,000 after purchasing an additional 154,486 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,572,823 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $540,461,000 after buying an additional 386,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $504,684,000 after buying an additional 1,368,571 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST traded up $4.76 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $146.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,954,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,413,213. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company's 50-day moving average price is $134.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.35. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.06.

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.