New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 273,667 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 15,147 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $39,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 154.5% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROST. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $3.16 on Friday, reaching $155.68. 3,521,487 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,231,755. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $108.35 and a one year high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $51.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $145.21 and a 200 day moving average of $142.25.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.