Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 487 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,003 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 487 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $145.24 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.39. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.39 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $48.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid 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 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

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.