GSB Wealth Management LLC Sells 475 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

GSB Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,296 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 475 shares during the quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after purchasing an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 34,475 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after buying an additional 316,652 shares in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,337,000 after buying an additional 14,193 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ROST shares. Citigroup cut shares of 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.5 %

ROST stock opened at $149.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $49.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.92. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s 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.