Nordea Investment Management AB Lowers Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB reduced its holdings in Ross Stores by 60.8% in the second quarter, owning 797,705 shares valued at approximately $101.4 million after selling over 1.2 million shares.
• Ross Stores reported a quarterly EPS of $1.56, beating analyst estimates, with revenue reaching $5.53 billion, marking a 4.6% increase compared to last year.
• The company's recent dividend payment was $0.405 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.0%, with a payout ratio of 25.71%.

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 60.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 797,705 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 1,236,021 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.24% of Ross Stores worth $101,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,131 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 4,783 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 315.9% during the 2nd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 33,329 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $4,252,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 189.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 698 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.7%

Ross Stores stock opened at $156.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $149.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $158.69. The stock has a market cap of $50.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.33.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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