Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 37.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,747 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,054 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 19.1% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.1 %

ROST opened at $149.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $150.33 and a 200 day moving average of $147.82. The firm has a market cap of $49.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.10. 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 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.29.

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.