Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Acquires 5,197 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,648 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,197 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $10,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 251.7% in the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,944,338. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% 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 valued at $7,761,212 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock opened at $160.58 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $154.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $165.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.22 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued 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 business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.Ross Stores’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROST. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Fourteen 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.53.

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.