Teacher Retirement System of Texas Cuts Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 216,089 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 83,159 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Ross Stores were worth $27,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 50.7% in the first 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 during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in Ross Stores by 372.5% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 36.6% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $160.73 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $161.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total value of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,012 shares in the company, valued at $8,607,101.64. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. BTIG Research started coverage on Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.67.

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.