Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,843 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 6.9% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,159 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $573,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 251.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 204 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Nvwm LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 333,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 6,668 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 6,666 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 11.5% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,992 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,275,000 after buying an additional 1,028 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.73.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,944,338. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 2,932 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.09, for a total transaction of $437,131.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 88,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,169,865.15. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5%

ROST opened at $161.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $52.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.16. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $165.07.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th were given 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 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.