Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Cuts Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB trimmed its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,790 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 371 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,483 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,796,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the period. NatWest Group plc increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 43,294 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,549,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $1,151,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 37,348 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,650,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $142.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. 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 50-day simple moving average of $151.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.00. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.