LGT Capital Partners LTD. Has $93.27 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 619,720 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 52,492 shares during the period. Ross Stores makes up approximately 3.2% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $93,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 59.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $183,263,000 after purchasing an additional 469,717 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 27.8% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $263,675,000 after buying an additional 394,774 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 24.2% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,007,528 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $291,734,000 after buying an additional 390,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,310,364 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $481,062,000 after purchasing an additional 347,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $141.30 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $145.99 and its 200 day moving average is $144.42. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $46.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital raised their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.00.

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.