Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 275,233 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management sold 275,233 shares of Ross Stores, Inc., reducing its holdings by 63.7% and leaving them with 157,122 shares valued at approximately $20 million.
• Ross Stores reported a quarterly EPS of $1.56, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $5.53 billion and a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.6%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, which will be paid on September 30th to investors of record as of September 9th, yielding an annualized rate of 1.1%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 63.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 157,122 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 275,233 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $20,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (up previously 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 company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.67.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $2.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $152.94. 1,419,517 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,119,469. The company has a market capitalization of $50.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $158.69. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $139.38 and a 200 day moving average of $137.61.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors 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 currently 25.71%.

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.