Diversify Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,223 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,380 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,223 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.29.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $149.15 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $150.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.80. The firm has a market cap of $49.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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