Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,453 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 5,932 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $244,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,511 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 50,802 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $7,685,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,508,000. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,433 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 price target (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.2 %

ROST traded up $0.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $142.86. 1,076,256 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,273,703. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $151.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.00. The firm has a market cap of $47.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

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, 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 company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.