Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 74.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,073 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 130,146 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Ross Stores by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $299,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 917.2% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after purchasing an additional 26,598 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Ross Stores by 251.7% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 260,126 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $39,152,000 after buying an additional 186,161 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Ross Stores by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 49,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,454,000 after buying an additional 16,248 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.29.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $149.15 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $150.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

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.