Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Raises Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 168,734 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $25,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,916,192 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,243,740,000 after buying an additional 346,474 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,310,364 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $481,062,000 after buying an additional 347,006 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Ross Stores by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $397,747,000 after buying an additional 254,720 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Ross Stores by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,477,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $359,991,000 after buying an additional 331,996 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after purchasing an additional 975,190 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

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 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores 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 directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $145.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $48.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $112.39 and a one year high of $163.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $149.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.39.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for 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%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.