Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Lowers Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 46,016 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,321 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 515.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $243,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,585 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,585,000 after purchasing an additional 975,190 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $653,600,000 after purchasing an additional 601,031 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $263,675,000 after purchasing an additional 394,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,569,718 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,953,763,000 after purchasing an additional 381,790 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ROST opened at $154.31 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $51.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

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.