Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Lowers Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. trimmed its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,075 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,425 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth about $328,000. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth about $1,476,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth about $630,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 50.9% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 2,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 59.9% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $968,000 after buying an additional 2,843 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.7%

ROST stock opened at $156.31 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $50.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $149.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.89. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $158.69.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, insider Stephen C. Brinkley sold 6,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.97, for a total value of $971,793.89. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 57,012 shares in the company, valued at $8,607,101.64. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,944,338. This trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.33.

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.