AMF Tjanstepension AB Makes New $10.62 Million Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 83,229 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,618,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $38,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $152.64 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $158.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.64 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released 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 return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,169,865.15. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value 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. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,283 shares of company stock valued at $6,789,418 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

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.