220 Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Acquired by Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 220 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,916,192 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,243,740,000 after buying an additional 346,474 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Ross Stores by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $653,600,000 after acquiring an additional 601,031 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,310,364 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $481,062,000 after acquiring an additional 347,006 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $397,747,000 after purchasing an additional 254,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,477,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $359,991,000 after purchasing an additional 331,996 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $143.32 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $148.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.16. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.39 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $47.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

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.