Empirical Finance LLC Sells 157 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Empirical Finance LLC cut its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,718 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after buying an additional 67,861 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after acquiring an additional 34,475 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,025,309,000 after acquiring an additional 316,652 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,337,000 after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $142.59 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.96.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.06.

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.