Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 216,089 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 83,159 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.07% of Ross Stores worth $27,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,360,413,000 after buying an additional 4,946,101 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $518,200,000 after buying an additional 1,509,815 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $122,043,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 184.4% during 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 buying an additional 700,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 374.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 411,404 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $52,487,000 after buying an additional 324,693 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $160.73 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $161.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.00.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $0.405 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 25.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% 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 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.67.

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.