Howard Capital Management Inc. Acquires 661 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,977 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth about $630,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 50.9% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 59.9% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,843 shares during the period. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter worth approximately $1,476,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,734 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,944,338. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $160.70 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $161.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $151.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $52.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.18.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The business 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 company posted $1.59 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.67.

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.