New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 16.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 197,371 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 37,487 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $29,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PGGM Investments raised its position in Ross Stores by 724.1% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 21,833 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 140.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $68,106,000 after buying an additional 270,844 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 47.5% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 8.1% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 547,710 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $80,382,000 after acquiring an additional 41,204 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 30,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,538,000 after acquiring an additional 4,992 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $140.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.50 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.66.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ROST. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital upped their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.88.

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.