Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,790 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 496 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 262.1% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $146.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.70. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 42.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

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.