Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stake Lowered by C WorldWide Group Holding A S

C WorldWide Group Holding A S cut its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 67.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,409 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 8,965 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of ROST traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $129.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,714,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,823,638. The company's 50 day moving average price is $136.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.57. The stock has a market cap of $42.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.