Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Cuts Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC cut its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,381 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 985 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,916,192 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,243,740,000 after acquiring an additional 346,474 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,931,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $682,511,000 after buying an additional 161,202 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Ross Stores by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $653,600,000 after buying an additional 601,031 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $523,185,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,085,590 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $452,841,000 after buying an additional 78,423 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the transaction, the director now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $142.23. The company had a trading volume of 535,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,243,260. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $153.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.81.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.