JLB & Associates Inc. Sells 2,207 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

JLB & Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 135,595 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,207 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises about 2.8% of JLB & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $20,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,524,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Ross Stores by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 917.2% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after purchasing an additional 26,598 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $139.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $45.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down from $164.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

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.