Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Cuts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 20.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,138 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 9,518 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises 1.4% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROST. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Ross Stores by 64.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $347,585,000 after purchasing an additional 975,190 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4,787.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $94,783,000 after buying an additional 616,860 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 59.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $183,263,000 after buying an additional 469,717 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $263,675,000 after buying an additional 394,774 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.3 %

ROST stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $155.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,938,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,341,754. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.42.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.69.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.