State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 500 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 92,256 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $13,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 90,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,224,000 after purchasing an additional 7,796 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Ross Stores by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 31,766 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,588,000 after purchasing an additional 4,034 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 93.8% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,034 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after buying an additional 11,149 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,786 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 161.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 674,085 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $76,138,000 after acquiring an additional 416,431 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $144.40 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.08. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $107.30 and a twelve month high of $151.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.51.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the sale, the director now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.