Aurdan Capital Management LLC Sells 3,166 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Aurdan Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 45,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 3,166 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises approximately 2.0% of Aurdan Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Aurdan Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $630,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 50.9% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 59.9% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,843 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 26.6% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,734 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Agricole S A raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 98.4% in the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 104,200 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $13,316,000 after purchasing an additional 51,692 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total transaction of $971,793.89. Following the sale, the insider owned 57,012 shares in the company, valued at $8,607,101.64. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212 over the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $158.92 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.49. The company has a market cap of $51.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $161.95.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ROST. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.67.

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.