Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 1,312 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,467,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,312 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $220,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the second 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $141.30 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.42. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $46.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.00.

Ross Stores Company 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.