Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 118 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,008 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.08% of Ross Stores worth $39,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 6.3% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 67,952 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,227,000 after buying an additional 4,056 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 35.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $236,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 23.2% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,035 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 2,145 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $147.44 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $151.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.97. The stock has a market cap of $48.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued 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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

About Ross Stores

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.