Synovus Financial Corp Sells 21,365 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Synovus Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 57.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,070 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 21,365 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $153.53 on Monday. 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 cap of $50.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $146.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.82. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

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.