Vontobel Holding Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,897 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,514 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,308 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 1,433 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 64,696 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $8,268,000 after buying an additional 19,623 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Ross Stores by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 19,804 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,531,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group grew its position in Ross Stores by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 2,298 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $147.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $148.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $48.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total value of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,607,101.64. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.67.

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.