Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 1,979 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,644 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,979 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley reissued 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 lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $146.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $48.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.93. 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 results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

Ross Stores 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.