Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Trims Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Stephens Investment Management Group LLC reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 14.3% during the second quarter, holding 159,256 shares valued at $20.3 million after selling 26,626 shares.
• Ross Stores reported quarterly earnings of $1.56 per share, slightly beating analyst estimates of $1.54, with revenues of $5.53 billion, a 4.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, yielding 1.0%, and announced a dividend payout ratio (DPR) of 25.71%.

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 14.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,256 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 26,626 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $20,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,458 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,359,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $156.05 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $158.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $50.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. The business's 50 day moving average is $150.23 and its 200-day moving average is $142.28.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. 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 report on Thursday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.33.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total transaction of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 57,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,607,101.64. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212 over the last ninety days. 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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