Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Eagle Asset Management Inc.

Eagle Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 913,979 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 383,267 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.28% of Ross Stores worth $131,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,899,271 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $285,859,000 after purchasing an additional 12,962 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,188,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 63.1% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,120 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 5,848 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 21.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 14,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 66.6% in the third quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 23,628 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 9,444 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $142.64 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $145.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.43. The stock has a market cap of $47.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.50.

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.