Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Sells 621 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,743 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 621 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 17.0% during 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 during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $518,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,815 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Ross Stores by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,997,575 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $510,850,000 after purchasing an additional 192,148 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,912,392 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $372,134,000 after purchasing an additional 15,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ross Stores by 2.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,017,638 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $257,834,000 after buying an additional 45,674 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $156.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $158.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $150.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 25.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at $13,169,865.15. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $5,745,246.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,944,338. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.33.

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.