Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Acquired by SOA Wealth Advisors LLC.

Key Points

• SOA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 22.0% during the second quarter, acquiring additional shares worth approximately $1,490,000.
• Ross Stores reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.56 for the last quarter, slightly beating analysts' expectations, while revenue totaled $5.53 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%.

SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 22.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,676 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,109 shares during the quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,215 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 93,700.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,690 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 4,685 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 32.1% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 2,230 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,758 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 91.7% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,622 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $160.00 target price (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Twelve equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.67.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $153.20 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.55. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $158.69. The company has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 46,283 shares of company stock worth $6,789,418 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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