Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,967 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 8,269 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 313,126 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $43,333,000 after acquiring an additional 44,643 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 29,564 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 76.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 184,872 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $25,584,000 after acquiring an additional 80,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 470,319 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $65,087,000 after acquiring an additional 118,053 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $141.82 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.82 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $148.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.28. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ross Stores 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 transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’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 owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.