Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,997 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 2,355 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock traded up $2.77 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $152.92. 2,049,987 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,358,102. The stock has a market cap of $50.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The firm's 50 day moving average is $151.61 and its 200 day moving average is $147.88. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.