Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases Shares of 392 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 392 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $59,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 154.5% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 69.8% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,514 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 216.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 72,808 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,684,000 after acquiring an additional 49,784 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP raised its stake in Ross Stores by 67.7% during the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 8,537 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 3,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayberry Capital Partners LP raised its stake in Ross Stores by 21.0% during the first quarter. Bayberry Capital Partners LP now owns 121,000 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,758,000 after acquiring an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $146.09 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $145.14 and a 200-day moving average of $144.62. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

About Ross Stores

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.