Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 261.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,734 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,871 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $154.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,117,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,338,909. The stock's 50 day moving average is $146.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $51.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 23.15%.

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.