Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Bought by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 231.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,161 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 5,696 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $153.53. 1,698,006 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,041,926. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.37 and a 200-day moving average of $146.76. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ROST. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.69.

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.