Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Bought by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,039 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,585,000 after purchasing an additional 975,190 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 59.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $183,263,000 after buying an additional 469,717 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $263,675,000 after buying an additional 394,774 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,007,528 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $291,734,000 after buying an additional 390,518 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,310,364 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $481,062,000 after acquiring an additional 347,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % 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 worth $11,093,051. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $141.30 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $46.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.