Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. lessened its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 907 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Tredje AP fonden raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 30.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 205,040 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,159,000 after acquiring an additional 47,700 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 12,106 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,544,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 5,208 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $261,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 66,460 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,479,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.4%

Ross Stores stock opened at $161.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $152.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.68. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $161.95.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total transaction of $437,131.88. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.67.

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.