Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Has $3.01 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,699 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,665 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. American International Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,219,000 after buying an additional 2,969 shares during the period. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 724.1% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after buying an additional 21,833 shares during the period. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 232.6% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,454,000 after buying an additional 22,506 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1,194.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 411,164 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $56,899,000 after purchasing an additional 379,398 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth $1,483,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $154.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.35 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other 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 transaction 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.