BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Has $14.71 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 9.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 100,249 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 10,651 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $14,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth $3,179,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 8.9% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 20.9% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 371,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $54,467,000 after purchasing an additional 64,226 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 813.1% during the first quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 21,055 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,090,000 after purchasing an additional 18,749 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 91.9% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,579 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,167,000 after purchasing an additional 10,335 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.1 %

ROST stock traded down $1.64 during trading on Thursday, reaching $145.96. The stock had a trading volume of 444,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,251,165. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $108.35 and a one year high of $153.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $142.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.40. The company has a market capitalization of $48.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The business had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.06.

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.