Sei Investments Co. Buys 25,376 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 330,543 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 25,376 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.10% of Ross Stores worth $48,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 60,718 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,824,000 after acquiring an additional 4,063 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Ross Stores by 16.5% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 540,512 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $78,547,000 after purchasing an additional 76,450 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 16.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,298 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 21.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 20,699 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 3,665 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $154.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $51.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.06. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

About Ross Stores

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.