Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB trimmed its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 49.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,081 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 53,931 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $7,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.5% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 41,915 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 3,982 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 463,590 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $59,145,000 after purchasing an additional 2,510 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 59.9% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,843 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 80,378 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $10,255,000 after purchasing an additional 4,587 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 25.8% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,274 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.67.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ROST opened at $146.18 on Monday. The company 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. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $158.69. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $143.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.51.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. Ross Stores's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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