Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,080,013 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 30.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,502,459 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 1,080,013 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.76% of Ross Stores worth $319,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 209.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 548 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 42,950 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $5,489,000 after acquiring an additional 6,437 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 579,512 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $74,056,000 after purchasing an additional 5,745 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,456,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 1.4% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 27,589 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $1.53 on Thursday, hitting $130.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,178,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,815,083. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.11. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $137.27 and a 200-day moving average of $138.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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, Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.94.

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.