Caxton Associates LP Decreases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Caxton Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,589 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 948 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,541 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,975,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,188 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Ross Stores by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 133,459 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $18,470,000 after buying an additional 14,671 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 26,209.1% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 2,883 shares during the period. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 8,245 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $152.82 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.20. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

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.