Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 2,668 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 167,221 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 2,668 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.05% of Ross Stores worth $25,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded down $2.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $136.61. 2,676,986 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,314,120. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $148.27 and a 200-day moving average of $147.79.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup downgraded 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.