Coho Partners Ltd. Has $111.09 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Coho Partners Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 734,394 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 146,453 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores comprises 5.1% of Coho Partners Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Coho Partners Ltd. owned about 0.22% of Ross Stores worth $111,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,043 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Ross Stores by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 46,018 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Ross Stores by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 47,527 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,189,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Finally, Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 16,465 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,491,000 after purchasing an additional 5,090 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $140.44 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.95. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $46.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

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.