Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,543 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,000.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ROST. Bank of America increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital boosted 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 raised shares of Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.88.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ROST stock traded up $1.66 on Tuesday, reaching $142.32. 2,726,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,234,760. 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 $119.73 and a one year high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $47.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.72.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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 $0.3675 dividend. 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 1.03%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 23.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.