Boston Trust Walden Corp Reduces Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its stake in Ross Stores by 3.3%, selling 22,140 shares and now owning 649,239 shares valued at approximately $82.83 million.
• Analysts are optimistic about Ross Stores, with thirteen research analysts rating the stock as a "Buy" and an average price target of $162.33.
• Insiders, including Stephen C. Brinkley and CMO Karen Sykes, sold shares of Ross Stores recently, with Brinkley noting a 10.15% decrease in his holdings after selling 6,437 shares.

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 649,239 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 22,140 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.20% of Ross Stores worth $82,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,344,000. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 5,260 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 279,193 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $35,619,000 after acquiring an additional 82,878 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,926,000. Finally, Cypress Capital Group raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 20,039 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,056 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total value of $971,793.89. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,012 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,607,101.64. The trade was a 10.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $154.77 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $148.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.71%.

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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