Copeland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Copeland Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,575 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 4,366 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $16,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the first quarter worth about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $145.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,299,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,232,172. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.33. The company has a market capitalization of $48.35 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $112.39 and a one year high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.