Claro Advisors LLC Buys 2,200 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Claro Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 118.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,051 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter worth $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ROST. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $149.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.26. 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 fifty-two week low of $112.39 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. 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.