Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Vinva Investment Management Ltd

Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 370.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,051 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 71,677 shares during the period. Ross Stores comprises 0.6% of Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $13,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PGGM Investments grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 724.1% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 21,833 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in Ross Stores by 47.5% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,907,000 after buying an additional 4,228 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 42.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 63,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $9,260,000 after buying an additional 18,685 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 917.2% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after acquiring an additional 26,598 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $397,747,000 after acquiring an additional 254,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $154.89 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $51.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ROST. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.