Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. trimmed its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,630 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,080 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.33.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $156.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $158.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.68.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total transaction of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 57,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,607,101.64. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.