QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,503 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 14,452 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $7,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,121,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,360,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946,101 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 59.3% in the first quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $518,200,000 after buying an additional 1,509,815 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,997,575 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $510,850,000 after buying an additional 192,148 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,912,392 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $372,134,000 after buying an additional 15,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,017,638 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $257,834,000 after buying an additional 45,674 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at $22,944,338. This trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total value of $437,131.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 88,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,169,865.15. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,283 shares of company stock worth $6,789,418. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ROST. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Stock Down 2.3%

Ross Stores stock opened at $152.64 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $158.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $49.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.71%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

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.