Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 611.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,116 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 18,147 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.0% in the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.0% in the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 1.5% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,929 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $141.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,188,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,271,681. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.99 and a 200 day moving average of $144.42. The company has a market capitalization of $46.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ROST. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.00.

Insider Activity

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 value 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 approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 311,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.