HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,597 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 792 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 91.1% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 3,664 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 82,274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $12,383,000 after buying an additional 13,019 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,378,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 667.9% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,324 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,812,000 after acquiring an additional 22,026 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $1,971,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $153.53 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $146.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $50.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

About Ross Stores

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.