Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Holdings Lifted by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,208 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $14,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 4.0% in the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kintegral Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of ROST opened at $150.53 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.35 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $50.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ROST shares. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Company 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.