Diversified Trust Co Raises Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,390 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $1,476,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $630,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 50.9% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 7.0% during the first quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 680,994 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $87,024,000 after purchasing an additional 44,437 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.67.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $149.43 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $144.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.36 and a 52-week high of $158.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.71%.

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.