ING Groep NV Sells 91,126 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

ING Groep NV cut its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,901 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 91,126 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned about 0.06% of Ross Stores worth $29,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lummis Asset Management LP raised its stake in Ross Stores by 9.4% in the third quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 15,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,377,000 after buying an additional 1,361 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.8% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 14,585 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,195,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 13.0% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Bretton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,223,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 141,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $21,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,708 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.5 %

ROST stock traded up $3.57 during trading on Thursday, hitting $144.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,230,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,260,435. 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 one year low of $119.73 and a one year high of $163.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $146.59 and a 200-day moving average of $144.05. The stock has a market cap of $47.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.71%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.00.

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.