Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 28.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,627 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,652 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Kintegral Advisory LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 3.0% in the second 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 period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $146.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.70. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

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.