Shellback Capital LP Reduces Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Shellback Capital LP lowered its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,000 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Shellback Capital LP's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $10,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Ross Stores by 515.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $243,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,585 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $653,600,000 after buying an additional 601,031 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 59.4% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 27.8% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $263,675,000 after purchasing an additional 394,774 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.71.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $16,038,546.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $152.34. The stock had a trading volume of 531,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,235,332. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.19 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company's 50 day moving average price is $147.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.27. The firm has a market cap of $50.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

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.