Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Reduces Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 344,907 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 19,050 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned approximately 0.10% of Ross Stores worth $51,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $1.09 on Tuesday, hitting $154.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,742,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,337,442. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $145.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. 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 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.13 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores's 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.