Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 937,200 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 52,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $141,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Down 2.5 %

ROST opened at $123.30 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.01 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $143.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.81. The company has a market cap of $40.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

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.