Voleon Capital Management LP Has $1.94 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP significantly reduced its stake in Ross Stores by 64.3%, now holding shares worth approximately $1.94 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and EdgePoint Investment Group Inc., have increased their positions in Ross Stores, indicating strong institutional interest with a collective ownership of 86.86% of the company.
• Ross Stores recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, reflecting a 1.1% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for September 9th.

Voleon Capital Management LP lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 64.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,147 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 27,268 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $4,360,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,101 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 59.3% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $518,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,815 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,997,575 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $510,850,000 after purchasing an additional 192,148 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $504,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,571 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $372,134,000 after purchasing an additional 15,085 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ROST. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $151.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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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