Forsta AP Fonden Decreases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,429 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 5,900 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $11,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Ross Stores by 15.0% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 67,091 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,559,000 after buying an additional 8,752 shares during the period. STF Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. STF Management LP now owns 5,104 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,065,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Ross Stores by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,211 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 102,073 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $13,022,000 after purchasing an additional 26,516 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total value of $971,793.89. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,607,101.64. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.53.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $161.83 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $165.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $52.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $154.13 and a 200-day moving average of $144.91.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

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.