Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by Greenleaf Trust

Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,433 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen lowered their price target 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Eight equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $147.07 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $48.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.93.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued 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 1.00%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

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.