Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Position Lowered by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 110,256 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,341 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $14,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 29.4% during 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. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,536 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,092 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 231.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 478 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,328 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1%

Ross Stores stock opened at $156.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $158.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.79.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $5,745,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.