Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 139,125 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 31.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,248 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 139,125 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.09% of Ross Stores worth $38,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1%

ROST traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $131.42. The stock had a trading volume of 2,343,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,791,441. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $139.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ROST. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.