Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 95,916 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,371,768 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 95,916 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Ross Stores worth $207,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.5% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,479 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at about $392,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.83 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $123.71. The stock had a trading volume of 3,359,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,386,058. The company has a market cap of $40.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.77 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $142.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered 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, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.40.

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.