Cerity Partners LLC Has $12.53 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,214 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,846 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $12,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Nwam LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,651 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $285,859,000 after purchasing an additional 12,962 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,188,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 63.1% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,120 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,276,000 after buying an additional 5,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 21.6% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.69.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’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 transaction 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 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $153.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $145.14 and a 200 day moving average of $144.83.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.13 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

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.