Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,129 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $745,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American International Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 724.1% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after acquiring an additional 21,833 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at about $1,483,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 140.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $68,106,000 after buying an additional 270,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,569,718 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,953,763,000 after buying an additional 381,790 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $150.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $50.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $110.02 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’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 $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently 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.