Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Grows Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 539.1% during the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,505 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 11,392 shares during the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at about $954,000. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 3,015 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth approximately $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $142.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.73 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Loop Capital increased their target price 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. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.00.

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.