D.A. Davidson & CO. Raises Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 60,737 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,518 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $7,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth about $214,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 602,273 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $77,276,000 after purchasing an additional 5,617 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 28,354 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,075 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 174,123 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $22,215,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $156.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $150.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.47. The company has a market capitalization of $50.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $158.69.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Barclays upped their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.