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

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4,787.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,783,000 after buying an additional 616,860 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,732,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Ross Stores by 478.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 400,204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $60,235,000 after acquiring an additional 331,007 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on 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 restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $149.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $151.12 and a 200-day moving average of $147.92. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

About Ross Stores

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.