Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 71.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,651 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 64,939 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth $922,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 84.1% in the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,713 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 209.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 548 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 17.6% in the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 42,950 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $5,489,000 after purchasing an additional 6,437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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 Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $158.94.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.3%

ROST stock opened at $135.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.38. The company has a market capitalization of $44.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve 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 results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 25.59%.

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.

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