Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Cuts Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. decreased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,815 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 25,289 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ROST. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $150.56 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average of $151.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio 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.