Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Holdings Lowered by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 114,473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 20,337 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises 1.2% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $17,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 36.6% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 155.5% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 419 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.3% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 30,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 4,992 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 34.6% in the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,430 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.9% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 350,375 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $51,458,000 after purchasing an additional 9,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $141.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $145.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.42. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.00.

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.