Bridges Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,456 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of 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 worth $243,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,585 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $347,585,000 after buying an additional 975,190 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 14.6% during the fourth 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 27.8% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $263,675,000 after buying an additional 394,774 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,569,718 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,953,763,000 after buying an additional 381,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety 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 Price Performance

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

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

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.