GC Wealth Management RIA LLC Buys New Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,798 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 50.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $5,745,246.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,283 shares of company stock worth $6,789,418. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.9%

ROST opened at $156.17 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $147.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $50.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. The company 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" 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 target price for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve 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, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.67.

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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