Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Bought by 1832 Asset Management L.P.

1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 24.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,007,528 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 390,518 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $291,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,471,585 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 975,190 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 601,031 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 394,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 381,790 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ROST shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $154.31 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $147.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.09. The company has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

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.