Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Ross Stores by 22.7%, now holding 34,004 shares valued at approximately $4.35 million.
• Ross Stores' stock is currently trading at $139.56, reflecting a 0.9% decline, with a market capitalization of $45.65 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.16% and a payout ratio of 25.59%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,004 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 9,993 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 25.7% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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. 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 buying an additional 154,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,572,823 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $540,461,000 after buying an additional 386,838 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock traded up $0.02 on Friday, hitting $136.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 896,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,093,562. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.61. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $44.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Ross Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.59%.

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.