Caprock Group LLC Acquires 1,895 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 39.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,639 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,895 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.4 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $142.64 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $47.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.43.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.50.

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.