Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Position Reduced by Central Pacific Bank Trust Division

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division decreased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 662 shares during the quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROST. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST traded up $1.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $154.41. The stock had a trading volume of 641,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,284,956. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $148.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS 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 business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given 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 0.95%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 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.