Alliancebernstein L.P. Trims Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its stake in Ross Stores by 18.2%, selling 146,577 shares, and now holds approximately 659,372 shares valued at $84.26 million.
• Recent analyst reports show mixed ratings for Ross Stores, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock to a "hold", while others like Jefferies Financial Group upgraded it to a "buy".
• Ross Stores announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 to be paid on September 30th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 25.71%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 18.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 659,372 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 146,577 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.20% of Ross Stores worth $84,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,360,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,101 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,997,575 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $510,850,000 after purchasing an additional 192,148 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $504,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368,571 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,912,392 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $372,134,000 after acquiring an additional 15,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,017,638 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $257,834,000 after acquiring an additional 45,674 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $149.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,850,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,104,115. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $48.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.15. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $141.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.95. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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 research note on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.67.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.