State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $5.72 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,828 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 8,955 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,035 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,849 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 62.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,219 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 8,120 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 20.2% in the third quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 2,902 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam grew its position in Ross Stores by 14.4% in the third quarter. Tobam now owns 1,825 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $141.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,704,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,332,490. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The business's 50 day moving average is $150.75 and its 200 day moving average is $148.01. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Ross Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 target price (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. 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.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.