ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Acquires 671 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,354 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 724.1% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,611,000 after acquiring an additional 21,833 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 140.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $68,106,000 after acquiring an additional 270,844 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 4,228 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.1% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 547,710 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $80,382,000 after purchasing an additional 41,204 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.3% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 30,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 4,992 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores 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 directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded up $0.48 on Wednesday, reaching $140.79. The stock had a trading volume of 370,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,167. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.73 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $146.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.08. 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 market capitalization of $46.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $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, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

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.