Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Acquired by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,992 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eukles Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Eukles Asset Management now owns 17,937 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 6.1% in the second quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 109,511 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $13,977,000 after buying an additional 6,280 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $106,000. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 11.5% during the second quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 4.9% during the second quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 6,506 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $830,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $5,745,246.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,944,338. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, October 31st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.53.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $162.85 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $165.07. The company has a market capitalization of $52.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. 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 moving average of $153.95 and a 200-day moving average of $144.79.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio 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.