Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 4,493 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 63,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 4,493 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summitry LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.3% in the third quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 434,640 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $66,235,000 after acquiring an additional 5,728 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 571 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Amica Retiree Medical Trust acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $426,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $4,790,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in Ross Stores by 2.0% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 112,442 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,135,000 after buying an additional 2,186 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1%

ROST opened at $200.38 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $187.86 and a 200-day moving average of $167.26. The company has a market capitalization of $64.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.99. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $200.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The apparel retailer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.20. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 36.75%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, December 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.94.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.