Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,369 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

ROST opened at $144.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.42. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $112.39 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 23.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.