Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Lowers Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 635,780 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 19,001 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.19% of Ross Stores worth $95,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 97.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $44,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $153.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.