Somerset Trust Co Lowers Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Somerset Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,323 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 valued at $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Ross Stores by 4,787.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,783,000 after acquiring an additional 616,860 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 59.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $183,263,000 after purchasing an additional 469,717 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,007,528 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $291,734,000 after purchasing an additional 390,518 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ROST. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.29.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $149.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $150.22 and a 200-day moving average of $147.75. The stock has a market cap of $49.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

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.