1832 Asset Management L.P. Lowers Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. significantly reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 41.9%, now holding approximately 1.1 million shares valued at $140.96 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views, with Jefferies Financial Group upgrading Ross Stores to a "buy" rating while others have lowered their target prices and ratings.
• Ross Stores announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 25.59%.

1832 Asset Management L.P. decreased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 41.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,103,055 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 795,933 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. owned 0.34% of Ross Stores worth $140,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,360,413,000 after acquiring an additional 4,946,101 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,997,575 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $510,850,000 after acquiring an additional 192,148 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,572,823 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $540,461,000 after purchasing an additional 386,838 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Ross Stores by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $504,684,000 after buying an additional 1,368,571 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,912,392 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $372,134,000 after acquiring an additional 15,085 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $0.20 on Monday, reaching $147.45. 3,371,596 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,148,442. The company has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $158.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm's 50-day moving average is $136.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Eleven 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.00.

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.