GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Boosts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,618 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ROST shares. Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.00.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $141.30 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $145.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.42. 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. The stock has a market cap of $46.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores 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.