Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by C WorldWide Group Holding A S

C WorldWide Group Holding A S lessened its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 67.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,409 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 8,965 shares during the quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $563,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% during the first 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 period. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 5.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 36.6% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.0% during the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 7,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Five research 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 target price of $158.94.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.7%

ROST stock traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.44. 307,471 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,811,707. The firm has a market cap of $42.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $137.02 and its 200 day moving average is $138.72. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.59%.

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.