Prudential PLC Has $759,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Prudential PLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 52.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $152.68 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.35 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $50.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 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 stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.