Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Whipplewood Advisors LLC

Whipplewood Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 852 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 770 shares during the quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,360,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,101 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,509,815 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,997,575 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $510,850,000 after purchasing an additional 192,148 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,912,392 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $372,134,000 after purchasing an additional 15,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,017,638 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $257,834,000 after purchasing an additional 45,674 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $5,745,246.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $156.75 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $158.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $150.62 and a 200-day moving average of $142.83. The stock 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. BTIG Research started coverage on Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Thirteen equities 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.