Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Acquires New Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 33,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,322,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROST. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth $630,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 50.9% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 2,750 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 59.9% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,843 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth $1,476,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 26.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,734 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,522,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at $13,169,865.15. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212 over the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.33.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1%

ROST opened at $156.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $158.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.79.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

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.