Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,072 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 515.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $243,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,585 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,585,000 after buying an additional 975,190 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,083,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Ross Stores by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $653,600,000 after buying an additional 601,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $263,675,000 after buying an additional 394,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, 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 transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1 %

ROST stock opened at $154.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $108.35 and a one year high of $163.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.14.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

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.