Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lowered its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 596,656 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 5,617 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.18% of Ross Stores worth $74,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,995,760 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,250,423,000 after acquiring an additional 135,117 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.2% in the 4th 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $131.56 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $138.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.66. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. 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 has a market cap of $43.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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