48,900 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Acquired by Masterton Capital Management LP

Masterton Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 48,900 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,106,000. Ross Stores makes up about 5.1% of Masterton Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,916,192 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,243,740,000 after purchasing an additional 346,474 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $653,600,000 after buying an additional 601,031 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,310,364 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $481,062,000 after acquiring an additional 347,006 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,085,590 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $452,841,000 after acquiring an additional 78,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Ross Stores by 15.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,477,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $359,991,000 after acquiring an additional 331,996 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research 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. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $149.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $147.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.35 and a 12 month high of $163.60.

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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The company 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 firm posted $1.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the 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 $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.