Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 167.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,272 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,286,000. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 908.6% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 19,334 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,810,000 after acquiring an additional 17,417 shares in the last quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 12,946 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at $2,300,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 43.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,069,082 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $155,603,000 after purchasing an additional 325,293 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ROST. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Three equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $152.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $50.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.13.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.