Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 17.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,711 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 18,614 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $11,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.17. 2,171,499 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,818,327. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $138.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.27. The stock has a market cap of $42.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.94.

Ross Stores Company 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.