Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,000 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Ross Stores by 4,787.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $94,783,000 after purchasing an additional 616,860 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,732,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Ross Stores by 478.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 400,204 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $60,235,000 after purchasing an additional 331,007 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded down $1.68 on Friday, reaching $138.76. 2,350,592 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,229,993. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.88.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

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.