1,768 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Acquired by Kathmere Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Kathmere Capital Management LLC has acquired 1,768 shares of Ross Stores, valued at approximately $226,000, as part of a growing trend of institutional investment in the company.
• Research analysts have upgraded their price targets for Ross Stores, with Wells Fargo now setting a target of $175.00, indicating a bullish outlook for the stock.
• The company reported earnings of $1.56 per share for the last quarter, slightly beating expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share.

Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,768 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 17.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,360,413,000 after acquiring an additional 4,946,101 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 59.3% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $518,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,815 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at $122,043,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 16,435.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 806,099 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $103,011,000 after acquiring an additional 801,224 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 184.4% in the first 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 in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.2%

ROST opened at $151.86 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $49.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $146.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.36. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 25.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value 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 trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,283 shares of company stock valued at $6,789,418 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Company 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.

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