Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 14,366 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,352 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 14,366 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.9% during the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Kintegral Advisory LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $146.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $145.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.62. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.42% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.69.

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.