Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Central Pacific Bank Trust Division

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division reduced its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,773 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 961 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 17.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,360,413,000 after buying an additional 4,946,101 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 59.3% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $518,200,000 after buying an additional 1,509,815 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Ross Stores by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,336,312 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $504,684,000 after buying an additional 1,368,571 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at $122,043,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 16,435.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 806,099 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $103,011,000 after buying an additional 801,224 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $147.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $142.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.21. The firm has a market cap of $48.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $158.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.71%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $607,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.67.

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.