Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,743 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 621 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 17.0% during the first 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 in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $518,200,000 after buying an additional 1,509,815 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at approximately $122,043,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $138,081,000 after purchasing an additional 700,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 21.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,392,475 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $177,944,000 after buying an additional 246,648 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total value of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 57,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,607,101.64. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 106,413 shares in the company, 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 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $156.75 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $158.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.33.

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.