Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Decreases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 662 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,127,802,000 after purchasing an additional 67,861 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,915,000 after acquiring an additional 34,475 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after purchasing an additional 316,652 shares in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,337,000 after purchasing an additional 14,193 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in 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 worth $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ROST. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ ROST traded up $1.81 on Friday, hitting $154.41. 641,103 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,284,956. The company has a market capitalization of $50.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $148.00 and a 200 day moving average of $147.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

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.