Prio Wealth Limited Partnership Increases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Prio Wealth Limited Partnership raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,876 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $10,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 347,006 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $397,747,000 after acquiring an additional 254,720 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,477,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $359,991,000 after acquiring an additional 331,996 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after acquiring an additional 975,190 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ ROST traded down $2.42 during trading on Monday, hitting $147.48. The stock had a trading volume of 403,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,226,238. The company has a market capitalization of $49.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $149.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.28. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.39 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

About Ross Stores

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.