EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $656,000 Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,516 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,629 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American International Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,969 shares during the period. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 21,833 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $1,483,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 140.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $68,106,000 after purchasing an additional 270,844 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 at the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $147.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $148.09 and a 200-day moving average of $143.34. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.02 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

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 the consensus estimate 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%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 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.