Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases 85,948 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 612.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,990 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,948 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $12,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $630,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,149 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 2,750 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 59.9% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,843 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth $1,476,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,734 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,522,000 after buying an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $156.75 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.83. The stock has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $158.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.33.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total value of $607,040.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $5,745,246.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,944,338. This trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores 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.