Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 990,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $149,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.0% during the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,929 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $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.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $140.69 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.73 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 2.31 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.32.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results 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. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.00.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores 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.