MML Investors Services LLC Has $4.45 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 13.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,582 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,523 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 7.1% during the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,108 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2,291.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,444 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Western Financial Corp CA increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 5,474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,573 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,408,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ROST shares. Loop Capital increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $153.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $146.37 and its 200-day moving average is $146.70.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted 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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

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.