Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 4,063 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,718 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,063 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American International Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 724.1% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 21,833 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 232.6% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,454,000 after purchasing an additional 22,506 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $56,899,000 after purchasing an additional 379,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,483,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 worth $11,093,051 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $149.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $147.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.35 and a 52 week high of $163.60. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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 $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROST. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.