Commerce Bank Grows Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Commerce Bank grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 154.5% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 308 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 69.8% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,514 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 14.1% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,927 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 140.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $68,106,000 after purchasing an additional 270,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 216.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 72,808 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,684,000 after buying an additional 49,784 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 related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $146.09 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $145.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.53. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 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 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

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.