Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 19.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,075 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,425 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at $1,476,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $630,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 2,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 59.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,843 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,169,865.15. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROST. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.33.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $156.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.18. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.89. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

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.