Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $8.82 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,718 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,063 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. American International Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969 shares during the period. PGGM Investments raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 724.1% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after acquiring an additional 21,833 shares during the period. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 232.6% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,454,000 after acquiring an additional 22,506 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1,194.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 411,164 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $56,899,000 after acquiring an additional 379,398 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,483,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. 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. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $149.98 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.35 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results 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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

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.