Waterloo Capital L.P. Acquires 285 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,757 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 32,263 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.7% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,183 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at $474,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $747,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $415,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. 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 three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on ROST shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $154.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.35 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

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.