Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Oak Ridge Investments LLC

Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 104,789 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,120 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores makes up 1.4% of Oak Ridge Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Oak Ridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $15,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities 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, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $139.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.47. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.06 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $46.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.26 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

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.