Ballentine Partners LLC Sells 71 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ballentine Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,580 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Ross Stores news, 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 value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $144.22 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.39 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 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 posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Barclays increased their price objective 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 raised their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

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.