Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,016 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,321 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American International Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 724.1% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,611,000 after buying an additional 21,833 shares during the period. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 232.6% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,454,000 after buying an additional 22,506 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1,194.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 411,164 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $56,899,000 after buying an additional 379,398 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth about $1,483,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $154.31 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.35 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap 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 50-day moving average of $147.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

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.