Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Parnassus Investments LLC

Parnassus Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,371,768 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 95,916 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $207,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Down 2.5 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $123.30 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.01 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

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.