National Pension Service Sells 4,937 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

National Pension Service reduced its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,335,942 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 4,937 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $284,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research cut Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ross Stores from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.76.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $225.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $71.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.85. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $143.39 and a twelve month high of $257.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $235.55 and a 200 day moving average of $225.52.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%.The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.55%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an off-price retailer that operates Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores. The company sells a broad selection of apparel, accessories, footwear and home fashion merchandise for women, men and children, generally at prices below those of traditional department and specialty stores.

Ross Stores follows an opportunistic buying model, purchasing name-brand, designer and other merchandise from manufacturers and retailers at discounted prices. Its product assortment changes frequently and can include clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, beauty products, furniture, bedding, home décor and other household goods.

Founded in 1950, the company is headquartered in Dublin, California, and serves customers primarily through its store network across the United States and Guam.