Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Has $267.64 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,841,718 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 31,544 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $267,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital upped their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $154.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

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.