Aigen Investment Management LP Invests $1.22 Million in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after purchasing an additional 975,190 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 59.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $183,263,000 after purchasing an additional 469,717 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 27.8% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $263,675,000 after purchasing an additional 394,774 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 24.2% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,007,528 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $291,734,000 after purchasing an additional 390,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.7% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,310,364 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $481,062,000 after purchasing an additional 347,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $140.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.03. The company has a market cap of $46.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.73 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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, Bank of America raised their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.63.

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.