SYM FINANCIAL Corp Takes $201,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,384 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 227,352 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,039,000 after purchasing an additional 58,354 shares during the last quarter. TradeLink Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth approximately $349,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 39.3% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,781 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.5% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 611,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $89,103,000 after acquiring an additional 14,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.4% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 9,941 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $155.25 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $51.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

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.