Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Has $20.32 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC decreased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 14.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 159,256 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 26,626 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $20,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,476,000. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth approximately $630,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 59.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $968,000 after buying an additional 2,843 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,734 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after buying an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total transaction of $437,131.88. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.2%

Ross Stores stock opened at $156.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $50.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $158.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.28.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ROST. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.33.

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.