Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,529 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 3,161 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $11,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Ross Stores by 89.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,615,682 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,408,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118,591 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,390,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 40.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,353 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,694,000 after buying an additional 5,012 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $34,867,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 459.5% during the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 26,095 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,653,000 after buying an additional 21,431 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO James Conroy sold 49,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.48, for a total value of $11,291,563.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,349 shares in the company, valued at $30,830,408.52. This represents a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Brinkley sold 6,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.66, for a total transaction of $1,475,335.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,865,383.90. The trade was a 11.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $232.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.88. The stock has a market cap of $74.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.83. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.39 and a 1 year high of $257.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a $0.4450 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 21.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $265.00 to $258.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.06.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc is an off-price apparel and home fashion retailer headquartered in Dublin, California. The company operates primarily through its Ross Dress for Less stores, which offer branded and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home merchandise at discounts to regular department and specialty store prices.

Ross Stores also operates dd’s DISCOUNTS, a chain focused on value-oriented apparel, accessories, footwear, and home products. Both retail formats generally purchase merchandise opportunistically from manufacturers, department stores, and other suppliers, allowing the company to offer changing assortments and discounted prices.

Founded in 1950, Ross Stores serves customers across the United States through its store network and e-commerce presence.