State of Alaska Department of Revenue Cuts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,828 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 8,955 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 23.2% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,035 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,219 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 8,120 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 2,902 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 14.4% in the third quarter. Tobam now owns 1,825 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $142.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 2.49 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. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $151.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.95. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ROST. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

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.