Forsta AP Fonden Acquires 15,800 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,929 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $11,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $144.22 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.39 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $48.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.48.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

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.