Bokf Na Purchases 8,524 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Bokf Na increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 143.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,483 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,524 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,862 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,780,000 after buying an additional 683 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,726 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 36,542 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,057,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,067 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,469,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $155.25 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $51.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $146.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.99. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROST. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

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.