Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 368 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,068 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 368 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,360,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,101 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 59.3% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $518,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,815 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth approximately $122,043,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Ross Stores by 184.4% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,080,532 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $138,081,000 after purchasing an additional 700,546 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,392,475 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $177,944,000 after purchasing an additional 246,648 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $156.05 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $158.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.28. 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 $50.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of Ross Stores 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. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ROST shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.