9,155 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Purchased by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,155 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,378,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $153.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $145.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.74. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Company 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.