Clean Yield Group Invests $3.49 Million in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,202 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,492,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.5% in the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 5,202 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 24.9% in the third quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 2,145 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,035 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth $236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $140.12 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.82 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.