Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 509,794 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 23,171 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.16% of Ross Stores worth $65,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisbourg Investments Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 54.2% during the second quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 30,235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,857,000 after purchasing an additional 10,625 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 59.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 2,843 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,734 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,522,000 after buying an additional 4,152 shares during the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 98.4% in the 1st quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 104,200 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $13,316,000 after buying an additional 51,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,392,475 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $177,944,000 after acquiring an additional 246,648 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,944,338. This trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank started coverage on Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, October 31st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.53.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $161.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $52.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.50. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $165.07.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

Ross Stores Company 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.