ING Groep NV Reduces Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV has decreased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 51.0%, selling over 50,000 shares and leaving it with 48,938 shares valued at approximately $6.25 million.
• Despite the decrease by ING, other investors such as Golden State Wealth Management LLC and Bayforest Capital Ltd have significantly increased their positions in Ross Stores, indicating mixed investor sentiment.
• Ross Stores recently reported earnings exceeding estimates and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405, reflecting a 1.1% yield on an annualized basis of $1.62.

ING Groep NV lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 51.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,938 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 50,919 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,914,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,410,724 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $213,400,000 after purchasing an additional 32,035 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,747 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 236,262 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $35,739,000 after purchasing an additional 25,970 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.06.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $145.22. 2,295,697 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,080,246. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $47.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.38.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.59%.

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.