Amundi Has $516.89 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Amundi decreased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 11.3%, selling 503,446 shares during the first quarter, bringing its ownership to approximately 3.95 million shares valued at $516.9 million.
• Ross Stores reported an EPS of $1.56 for its most recent quarter, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, despite a year-over-year decline from $1.59.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.1%, with the dividend payable on September 30th to shareholders of record by September 9th.

Amundi reduced its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,948,574 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 503,446 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 1.20% of Ross Stores worth $516,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 274.3% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,096,000 after buying an additional 14,998 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,276,799 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $193,141,000 after buying an additional 377,554 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at about $328,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,516,000. Finally, Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at about $1,476,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ROST. UBS Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $160.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.67.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of ROST traded down $1.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $150.95. 2,438,398 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,281,008. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $158.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.78.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

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.