J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 5,365 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 38.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,563 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 5,365 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 97.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 stock was 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 directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.7 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $143.16 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.45 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $47.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $149.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.50.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 23.71%.

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.