Blue Trust Inc. Buys 424 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 20.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,486 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the first quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,458 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,359,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 6.1% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 36.6% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $154.77 on Tuesday. 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 $50.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $158.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.17.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $5,745,246.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,944,338. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.33.

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.