Caxton Associates LLP Makes New $1.54 Million Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,014 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $518,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,815 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 valued at $510,850,000 after acquiring an additional 192,148 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $504,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted 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 valued at $372,134,000 after acquiring an additional 15,085 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $149.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.22 and a 200-day moving average of $137.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month 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.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.67.

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.