Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stake Raised by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4,200.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 645 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $98,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ROST. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.29.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $149.15 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $150.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $49.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.