Wedbush Securities Inc. Buys 463 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,159 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 251.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in Ross Stores by 372.5% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, October 31st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.53.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $161.92 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 firm has a market cap of $52.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $153.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.50. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $165.07.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total transaction of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,607,101.64. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Company 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.