State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,256 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,341 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $14,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 36.6% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $5,745,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,944,338. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. BTIG Research started coverage on Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.33.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $156.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $158.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $150.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 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.