Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 2,389 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,318 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 2,389 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $10,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lewis Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $589,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 7.5% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,637 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,357,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 35.8% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,390 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 371.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 304,923 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $38,902,000 after acquiring an additional 240,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 3.7% in the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 63,242 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $8,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,273 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related 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 transaction of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1%

ROST stock opened at $146.18 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.51. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

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