Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 30,821 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 4.2%, now holding approximately 705,753 shares valued at about $90.2 million.
• Analysts have raised target prices for Ross Stores, with an average target of $159.06, reflecting a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating.
• Ross Stores reported earnings of $1.47 per share for the last quarter, beating estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 2.6%.

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 705,753 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 30,821 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of Ross Stores worth $90,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 774 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 83,337 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $12,606,000 after buying an additional 13,312 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,250,423,000 after buying an additional 135,117 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 278.7% during the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,040 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,369,000 after buying an additional 6,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,262 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3%

ROST traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $137.01. 2,220,593 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,327,187. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $134.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $159.06.

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.