Burney Co. Sells 26,245 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Burney Co. decreased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 57.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 26,245 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 9.6% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,072 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.9% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 9,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $415,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $747,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at $474,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $149.01 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $49.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated 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, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.29.

Ross Stores Company 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.