Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,479 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 906 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 724.1% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 21,833 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 140.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $68,106,000 after acquiring an additional 270,844 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 47.5% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.1% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 547,710 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $80,382,000 after acquiring an additional 41,204 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 30,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 4,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.63.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST opened at $140.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $146.82 and a 200-day moving average of $144.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.73 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 23.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.