Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 144,310 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 10,384 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $21,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 97.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.
In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.
ROST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.71.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on ROST
Shares of ROST opened at $140.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.09. The company's fifty day moving average is $148.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.52. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.50 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. Ross Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.
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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.
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.
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