Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 40,136 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC sold 40,136 shares of Ross Stores, reducing its stake by 76.2%, leaving them with 12,524 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Ross Stores, with Wells Fargo increasing their target to $175, reflecting a positive outlook and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Ross Stores has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, scheduled for payment on September 30, with an annualized yield of 1.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 25.71%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 76.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,524 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 40,136 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 50.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $160.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold 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 $160.67.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $146.18. 4,700,477 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,616,361. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50-day moving average price is $143.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.