Bath Savings Trust Co Decreases Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Bath Savings Trust Co reduced its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,988 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 1.5% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,929 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.29.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ ROST traded down $2.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $152.23. 988,944 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,601,378. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.55. The stock has a market cap of $50.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly 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. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

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.