Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Acquires 31,906 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,347,523 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,906 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $195,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.0% during the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kintegral Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.0% during the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.7 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $155.25 on Monday. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.94.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently 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.