New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 14,737 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 252,672 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 14,737 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.08% of Ross Stores worth $38,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $60,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $139.73. 2,419,989 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,298,768. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $148.85 and a 200 day moving average of $147.91. 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 firm has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.10.

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

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.