Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $18.13 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,484 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 6,831 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $44,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.3 %

ROST opened at $155.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $145.80 and its 200 day moving average is $146.42.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

Ross Stores 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.