Maverick Capital Ltd. Makes New $1.92 Million Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,185 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. American International Group Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. PGGM Investments grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 724.1% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,611,000 after acquiring an additional 21,833 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1,194.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 411,164 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $56,899,000 after acquiring an additional 379,398 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth about $1,483,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 140.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $68,106,000 after purchasing an additional 270,844 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $151.56 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. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.19 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $147.61 and a 200 day moving average of $143.27.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.79%.

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.