Sax Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Sax Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,672 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 372.5% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at $13,169,865.15. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,283 shares of company stock worth $6,789,418 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $149.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.66. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given 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 1.1%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

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.