AdvisorShares Investments LLC Takes $504,000 Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,468 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $504,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kintegral Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.0% during the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $150.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $146.34 and its 200 day moving average is $142.86. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.35 and a 52 week high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

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.