Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 67.3%, buying an additional 302,924 shares to hold 753,297 shares worth about $135.7 million (≈0.23% of the company).
• Research firms have been lifting targets and ratings on ROST, leaving a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $208.29 (16 Buy ratings vs. 5 Hold).
• Ross beat quarterly expectations with EPS $2.00 vs. $1.90 and revenue of $6.64 billion (up 12.2% year-over-year) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.445 (annualized $1.78, ~0.8% yield).

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 67.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 753,297 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 302,924 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.23% of Ross Stores worth $135,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in Ross Stores by 162.6% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 257 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, January 9th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.29.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $213.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $198.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.11. The company has a market cap of $68.92 billion, a PE ratio of 32.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.97. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.07 and a 1-year high of $216.80.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total value of $546,753.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 103,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,234,874.95. The trade was a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc NASDAQ: ROST is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross's business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.

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