V Square Quantitative Management LLC Purchases 1,764 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 112.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,333 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,764 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at $116,000. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 24.7% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,416 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.6% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,109 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,364,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $267,000. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 28,107 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,124,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $149.90 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $50.00 billion, a PE ratio of 25.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $149.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.26. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.39 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Company 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.