Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Position Lessened by Thomasville National Bank

Thomasville National Bank lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 9.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,184 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Net Worth Advisory Group raised its position in Ross Stores by 15.8% during the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 2,298 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 19,804 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,531,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 64,696 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $8,268,000 after purchasing an additional 19,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 167,974 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $21,465,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ROST. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $131.85 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.59. The company has a market cap of $43.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.14. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.59%.

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.