Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,636 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 497 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $150.61 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $145.71 and a 200-day moving average of $142.59. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $163.60. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $50.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.21 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.