Copeland Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Copeland Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 110,575 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 4,366 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $16,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 4.0% during the second 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 increased its position 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 worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.0% in 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. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,929 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.4% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,214 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.7 %

ROST stock opened at $147.29 on Tuesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $112.39 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.33.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ROST. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is owned by 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.