Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP decreased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 56.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 43,886 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,916,192 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,243,740,000 after acquiring an additional 346,474 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,931,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $682,511,000 after purchasing an additional 161,202 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $653,600,000 after purchasing an additional 601,031 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $523,185,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,310,364 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $481,062,000 after buying an additional 347,006 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.7 %

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

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The firm 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.79%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.