Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,004 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,169,865.15. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,283 shares of company stock valued at $6,789,418 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ ROST opened at $152.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $49.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $158.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $146.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.45.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up previously from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.67.

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.