Tredje AP fonden Lowers Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden reduced its stake in Ross Stores by 12.6% during the first quarter, selling 22,660 shares and holding 157,340 shares valued at approximately $20.1 million.
• Multiple analysts have set varied price targets for Ross Stores, with Jefferies upgrading the stock to "buy" and raising the target price from $135 to $150, while several others lowered their expectations.
• Ross Stores recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405, yielding 1.16% annually, with a payout ratio of 25.59% as of the last filing.

Tredje AP fonden reduced its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 12.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,340 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 22,660 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $20,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 20,871 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,667,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.1% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,354 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 345,671 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $44,173,000 after purchasing an additional 3,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Ross Stores by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 68,676 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $8,776,000 after purchasing an additional 11,355 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $137.01. 2,220,593 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,327,187. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.52. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.81 billion, a PE 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 25.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.06.

Ross Stores 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.