Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Trims Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. has reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 6.7%, holding 180,420 shares valued at approximately $23 million after selling 12,928 shares in the recent quarter.
• Insider trading activity was noted as CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares at an average price of $151.76, resulting in a 3.62% decrease in her holdings.
• Ross Stores recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, which will be paid on September 30, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 180,420 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 12,928 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. owned about 0.06% of Ross Stores worth $23,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. GTS Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 267.0% during the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 57,321 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $8,671,000 after buying an additional 10,410 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $53,077,000. Finally, Members Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $245,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $149.43 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $144.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $158.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $160.00 target price (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.67.

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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