Stephens Inc. AR Boosts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,328 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth approximately $333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 37,077 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,442,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth approximately $535,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,839,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $142.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.75. The company has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.73 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.88.

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.