Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Has $108,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 96.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 715 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 18,628 shares during the quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2 %

Ross Stores stock traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $138.76. 2,350,592 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,296,336. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $149.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. The company's revenue 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 year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

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.