Portfolio Design Labs LLC Buys Shares of 11,835 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Portfolio Design Labs 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 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,835 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,781,000.

Other hedge funds have 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 valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.50.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $139.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,679,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,279,636. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $46.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 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. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $145.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.48.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

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 13.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Company 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.