Bretton Capital Management LLC Makes New $5.22 Million Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Bretton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 34,700 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,223,000. Ross Stores comprises about 5.0% of Bretton Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 97.8% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $1.87 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $142.33. 3,134,668 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,269,253. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $146.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.73 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 23.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.00.

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.