Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $2 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,658 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $147.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $158.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.79. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was 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 approximately $8,607,101.64. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.67.

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.