New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Has $2.40 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,890 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth 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 acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $138.76 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.88. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. 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 data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

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.