Amundi Lowers Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Amundi trimmed its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,452,020 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 709,702 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 1.35% of Ross Stores worth $687,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 152.9% during 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 in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.4 %

ROST traded down $1.93 on Friday, hitting $135.96. 4,252,671 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,583,287. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

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Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.07.

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.