Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 130,146 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 74.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.29.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $149.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,011,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,873,334. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60. The business's 50-day moving average is $150.33 and its 200-day moving average is $147.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $49.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.