Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Raises Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,945 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 218 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 434.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $132.12 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $144.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

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.