XTX Topco Ltd Purchases 17,417 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 908.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,334 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,417 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the second quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 12,946 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,881,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $2,300,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 43.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,069,082 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $155,603,000 after acquiring an additional 325,293 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 2,757 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 32,263 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.3 %

ROST opened at $150.73 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.35 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.03. The company has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, 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 value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. 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 research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.