Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 19.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,472 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 5,134 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores makes up 1.0% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 17.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,360,413,000 after acquiring an additional 4,946,101 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 59.3% in the first 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. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 5.0% in the first 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.5% in the first 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. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,017,638 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $257,834,000 after acquiring an additional 45,674 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $153.20 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.69 and a 200 day moving average of $139.55. The stock has a market cap of $49.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $158.69. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $5,745,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,944,338. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,283 shares of company stock valued at $6,789,418 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.67.

Ross Stores Company 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.