Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 33,278 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,009 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American International Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969 shares during the period. PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 724.1% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 93.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 7,033 shares during the period. Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 232.6% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,454,000 after buying an additional 22,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 782,739 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $108,323,000 after buying an additional 21,984 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST traded down $1.19 on Friday, hitting $150.61. 2,287,787 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,244,937. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.35 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $145.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.