Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Holdings Lessened by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC cut its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,199 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 543 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.00.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $140.69 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $146.18 and its 200-day moving average is $144.32. The company has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.73 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.71%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’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 owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. 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.