Coho Partners Ltd. Sells 146,453 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Coho Partners Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 734,394 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 146,453 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores comprises approximately 5.1% of Coho Partners Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Coho Partners Ltd. owned approximately 0.22% of Ross Stores worth $111,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $139.09. 2,249,993 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,294,850. The company has a market cap of $45.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $149.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.92. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Ross Stores's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Company 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.