Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Trims Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,174 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 13,365 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $13,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of ROST stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $153.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,129,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,343,010. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $146.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.57. 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 stock has a market cap of $51.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10.

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. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.69.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.