Commerce Bank Raises Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 616 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 4.0% during the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.0% in the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,929 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the 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 owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.2 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $146.09 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $145.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday. Loop Capital increased their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

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.