First Financial Bank Trust Division Has $6.89 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 45,772 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,929 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $147.73 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $49.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.02 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.34.

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, topping 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 return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

About Ross Stores

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.