JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,660,225 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 561,501 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,270,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the first quarter worth $208,000. Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 3,015 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the first quarter worth about $954,000. Leo Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.0% in the first quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 4,070 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 539.1% in the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,505 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 11,392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ROST. Guggenheim increased their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.06.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of ROST stock traded down $1.00 on Friday, hitting $143.50. The stock had a trading volume of 3,550,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,144,261. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $153.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $143.12 and its 200-day moving average is $141.48.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.79%.

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.