Howe & Rusling Inc. Acquires 73 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % 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 worth $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.0 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $139.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $46.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $145.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.44. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 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. 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.50.

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.