Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Stock Holdings Lifted by Ascent Group LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 22.4% in Q2, now owning 9,067 shares valued at $1,157,000.
• Ross Stores reported $1.56 EPS for Q2, slightly exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue of $5.53 billion, up 4.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.405, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 25.71%.

Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 22.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,067 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $328,000. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the first quarter worth $1,476,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at about $630,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 50.9% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 2,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $968,000 after buying an additional 2,843 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $152.64 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $49.64 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $158.69.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.67.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value 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 trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,283 shares of company stock valued at $6,789,418 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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