Diversify Advisory Services LLC Sells 5,441 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,939 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 5,441 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $649,318,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 25.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $504,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,571 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 411.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,458,963 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $220,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173,607 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $176,973,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock 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 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $158.94.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.4%

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

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. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. Ross Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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