Cypress Capital Group Reduces Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Cypress Capital Group lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,128 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 547 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $135.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.70.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

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.