KBC Group NV Reduces Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,873 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 7,922 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $20,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 4,787.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $94,783,000 after purchasing an additional 616,860 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $86,732,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 478.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 400,204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $60,235,000 after buying an additional 331,007 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of ROST opened at $147.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $151.22 and a 200 day moving average of $147.89. The company has a market cap of $48.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

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.