Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Purchased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,673,823 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 133,005 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.65% of Ross Stores worth $1,102,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 17.6% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 42,950 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,489,000 after acquiring an additional 6,437 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 209.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 84.1% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,713 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth $922,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, October 31st. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.53.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.6%

Ross Stores stock opened at $161.83 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $154.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $165.07. 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 results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The business had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast 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 issued 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%.

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.