KBC Group NV Sells 7,922 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 133,873 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 7,922 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $20,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,836 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $272,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 24,100.0% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 484 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 4,307 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,385 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $147.92 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.89. 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 market cap of $48.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current 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 given 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 0.99%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROST. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.