Mutual Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,783 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 568 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 315.9% during the 2nd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 33,329 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,252,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 189.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 698 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 12.7% during the second quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $4,344,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 9.7% in the second quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 5,260 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $156.31 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $50.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $149.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.89. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total transaction of $971,793.89. Following the transaction, the insider owned 57,012 shares in the company, valued at $8,607,101.64. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.33.

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.