Slow Capital Inc. Has $8.04 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Slow Capital Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 4.7% during Q2, owning 63,000 shares valued at approximately $8.04 million.
• Analysts have rated Ross Stores with an average of 13 Buy ratings and a target price of $160.67, following positive earnings reports and increased revenue.
• Company executives, including CMO Karen Fleming and CEO James Grant Conroy, sold shares totaling approximately $6.79 million in the last 90 days, indicating a significant, albeit small, decrease in insider ownership.

Slow Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,000 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,804 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises 1.0% of Slow Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Slow Capital Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 18.5% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,893 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.9% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,828 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,308 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 167,974 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $21,465,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total transaction of $437,131.88. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was 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 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.67.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.2%

ROST opened at $152.26 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $158.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a PEG 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.36.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share 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. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

Ross Stores 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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