LGT Capital Partners LTD. Sells 52,492 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 619,720 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 52,492 shares during the period. Ross Stores accounts for about 3.2% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD. owned approximately 0.19% of Ross Stores worth $93,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 262.1% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 97.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $139.41. 1,534,461 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,268,611. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business's 50-day moving average price is $145.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. 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 business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their target price 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. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.50.

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.