Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Stock Sold by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. lessened its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,707 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 7,315 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $5,938,711,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Ross Stores by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,643,656 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,116,902,000 after purchasing an additional 734,009 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,024,203,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,937,995,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Ross Stores by 89.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,615,682 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,408,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118,591 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $241.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $77.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $231.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $157.73 and a 1-year high of $257.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.4450 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 21.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Ross Stores from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CEO James Conroy sold 49,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.48, for a total value of $11,291,563.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,830,408.52. This trade represents a 26.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.66, for a total value of $1,475,335.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,865,383.90. This trade represents a 11.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc. is an off-price retailer operating Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS. Its stores offer name-brand and designer merchandise at discounted prices, with product selection and availability varying by location and season. Ross Dress for Less sells apparel, footwear, accessories, home fashions, furnishings, and other merchandise for the whole family. dd’s DISCOUNTS offers a similar off-price assortment, including clothing, shoes, home goods, and related products. The company traces its origins to a department store founded in San Bruno, California, in 1950.