Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 265,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,445 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.08% of Ross Stores worth $40,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 42.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 63,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $9,260,000 after purchasing an additional 18,685 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,041 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth about $16,130,000. PGGM Investments purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $442,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 271.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 42,194 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,192,000 after acquiring an additional 30,822 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $154.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $51.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ROST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Five equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.