Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 17,486 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,539 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 17,486 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $15,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $148.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $49.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.31. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.02 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio 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.