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

Nwam LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,651 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the quarter. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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 shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased 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 buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now 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. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $153.29 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $145.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.83. The stock has a market cap of $50.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm 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 0.96%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

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.