Boston Partners Reduces Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Boston Partners lessened its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,363,022 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 225,543 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Ross Stores were worth $173,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 251.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in Ross Stores by 372.5% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.53.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $162.73 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $165.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.66. The firm has a market cap of $52.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total transaction of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,607,101.64. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.