Bellwether Advisors LLC Sells 3,013 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Bellwether Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 40.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,517 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 3,013 shares during the quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROST. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.94.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $138.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $135.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.88. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $45.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 1.17%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 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.