Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 115,280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 8,639 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $17,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 722,839 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $110,153,000 after buying an additional 47,974 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Ross Stores by 2.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 11,495 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 38.1% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 28,251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,305,000 after acquiring an additional 7,793 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% during the third quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 281,000 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $42,822,000 after acquiring an additional 21,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $205.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.52. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $206.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $181.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.78.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.