MQS Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

MQS Management LLC decreased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,978 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,951 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $4,360,413,000 after buying an additional 4,946,101 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 59.3% during 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. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 192,148 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during 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. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,017,638 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $257,834,000 after purchasing an additional 45,674 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $156.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $158.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $150.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.83.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $0.405 dividend. 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 presently 25.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total value of $971,793.89. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $5,745,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212 over the last quarter. 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.