Vest Financial LLC Has $35.62 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 42.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 279,193 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,878 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $35,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in Ross Stores by 372.5% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $5,745,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,944,338. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock valued at $7,761,212. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ROST. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, August 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.67.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $147.71 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $148.57 and a 200-day moving average of $140.96. The company has a market capitalization of $48.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $158.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.71%.

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.