Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,456 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 454 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Ross Stores by 19.1% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc increased its position in Ross Stores by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of ROST opened at $136.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.80. The stock has a market cap of $45.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.