Amalgamated Bank Reduces Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 68,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $10,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,382,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 37,077 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,442,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 4,032 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,200 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $142.32 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.73 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $47.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.79.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.88.

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.