DAVENPORT & Co LLC Sells 244 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,756 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $145.02 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $151.48 and its 200 day moving average is $147.97. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. 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.