APG Asset Management N.V. Reduces Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. by 57.4%, owning 12,323 shares worth approximately $1.46 million after selling 16,588 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Ross Stores, with twelve analysts giving a "Buy" rating and others indicating a recent downgrade from "buy" to "hold," resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $160.00.
• Ross Stores announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 to be paid on September 30th, marking a 1.1% yield based on an annualized basis of $1.62.

APG Asset Management N.V. lessened its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 57.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,323 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 16,588 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 274.3% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 14,998 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,276,799 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $193,141,000 after purchasing an additional 377,554 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,516,000. Finally, Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,476,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $160.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $147.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,633,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,327,832. 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 50 day simple moving average of $138.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.39. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $158.69. The stock has a market cap of $48.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given 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 yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

Ross Stores 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.