Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Cuts Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lowered its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,057 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $10,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $295,857,000 after purchasing an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 5.2% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 61.3% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,567 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 2,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 141,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $21,341,000 after buying an additional 2,708 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROST. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $124.21 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.77 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $142.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

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.