Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,029 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,175 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $20,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $138.76 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $149.53 and its 200 day moving average is $147.88. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60. 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 $45.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Company 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.