Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 18,801 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 179,632 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 18,801 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Ross Stores were worth $27,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 3.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,440,272 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $517,795,000 after buying an additional 129,908 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Ross Stores by 10.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $397,747,000 after buying an additional 254,720 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Ross Stores by 15.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,477,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $359,991,000 after buying an additional 331,996 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 68.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,585,000 after buying an additional 975,190 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Ross Stores by 3.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,131,529 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $312,756,000 after buying an additional 69,085 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital increased their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.50.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’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 sale, 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 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $139.26 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $46.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $145.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.48.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.