Armistice Capital LLC Has $19.91 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Armistice Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 137,000 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,458 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $19,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $153.08 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.35 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.13. The stock has a market cap of $51.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last ninety days. 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.