Alkeon Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Alkeon Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,613,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the period. Alkeon Capital Management LLC owned about 0.49% of Ross Stores worth $242,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second 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. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value 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 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 available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $154.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $145.31 and a 200-day moving average of $145.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

About Ross Stores

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.