Caxton Associates LP Trims Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Caxton Associates LP cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,589 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 948 shares during the quarter. Caxton Associates LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROST. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 3.0% in the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.5% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,929 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Three equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $152.82 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $147.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.20. The company has a market capitalization of $50.98 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.35 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Ross Stores Company 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.