Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,790 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 496 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,440,272 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $517,795,000 after acquiring an additional 129,908 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $397,747,000 after acquiring an additional 254,720 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 15.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,477,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $359,991,000 after purchasing an additional 331,996 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after acquiring an additional 975,190 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,131,529 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $312,756,000 after purchasing an additional 69,085 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of ROST opened at $146.09 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $145.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.70. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 42.42%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.