Raymond James & Associates Has $42.89 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,978 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,331 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.09% of Ross Stores worth $42,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Slow Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 32,865 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,947,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 3.3% during the third quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 25,905 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,899,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at $297,000. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $709,000. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 49.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,801 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction 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 $16,038,546.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $145.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.39 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.37. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

Ross Stores 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.