Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Alps Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Alps Advisors cut its Ross Stores stake by 25.9% in the third quarter, selling 5,420 shares and retaining 15,542 shares worth about $3.63 million.
• Ross Stores reported quarterly EPS of $2.66, beating the $1.95 consensus, while revenue rose 13.3% year over year to $6.26 billion.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $277.82; institutional investors own 86.86% of the stock.

Alps Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 25.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,542 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 5,420 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 13.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,234 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 2.1% in the third quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 87,678 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $20,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its position in Ross Stores by 91.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 2,286 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 113.1% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,944 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $5,122,000 after purchasing an additional 11,648 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $237.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $75.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.85. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $157.73 and a 52-week high of $257.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $231.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.71. Ross Stores had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 39.29%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.4450 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen Brinkley sold 6,424 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.66, for a total value of $1,475,335.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,865,383.90. The trade was a 11.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Conroy sold 49,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.48, for a total value of $11,291,563.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,830,408.52. This represents a 26.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $239.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Evercore set a $290.00 price target on Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $279.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $277.82.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc is an off-price retailer operating Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS. Its stores offer name-brand and designer merchandise at discounted prices, with product selection and availability varying by location and season.

Ross Dress for Less sells apparel, footwear, accessories, home fashions, furnishings, and other merchandise for the whole family. dd's DISCOUNTS offers a similar off-price assortment, including clothing, shoes, home goods, and related products.

The company traces its origins to a department store founded in San Bruno, California, in 1950.

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