Black Diamond Financial LLC Takes $206,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Black Diamond Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 1,420 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Kintegral Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.0% during the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’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 sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $155.25 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $108.35 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $51.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.94.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during 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 was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.