Synovus Financial Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Synovus Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,070 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 21,365 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 97.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock traded down $3.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $149.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,458,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,341,531. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $49.46 billion, a PE ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $146.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.82.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 23.15%.

Ross Stores 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.