Masterton Capital Management LP Takes $7.11 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Masterton Capital Management LP bought a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 48,900 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $7,106,000. Ross Stores accounts for approximately 5.1% of Masterton Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commerce Bank lifted its position in Ross Stores by 232.6% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,454,000 after buying an additional 22,506 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $278,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,541 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,975,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 516,798 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $71,532,000 after purchasing an additional 51,813 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,188 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction 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 dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ROST. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $2.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $152.27. 2,179,725 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,250,444. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business's fifty day moving average is $147.34 and its 200-day moving average is $143.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $108.35 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.79%.

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.