Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Windward Capital Management Co. CA

Windward Capital Management Co. CA lessened its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,312 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 306 shares during the quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $523,185,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 515.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $243,135,000 after buying an additional 1,471,585 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after acquiring an additional 975,190 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $102,083,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $653,600,000 after acquiring an additional 601,031 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of ROST opened at $150.53 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.35 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

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.