Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Stock Purchased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 374,200 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,913 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $87,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,615,682 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,408,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118,591 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,390,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 40.6% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,353 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,694,000 after buying an additional 5,012 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $34,867,000. Finally, Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new position in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at about $2,559,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $228.28 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $231.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.06. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.39 and a 1 year high of $257.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 39.29% and a net margin of 10.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $0.4450 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $262.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $265.00 to $258.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.06.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, CEO James Conroy sold 49,205 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.48, for a total transaction of $11,291,563.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,830,408.52. The trade was a 26.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stephen Brinkley sold 6,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.66, for a total value of $1,475,335.84. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,865,383.90. This represents a 11.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc is an off-price apparel and home fashion retailer headquartered in Dublin, California. The company operates primarily through its Ross Dress for Less stores, which offer branded and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home merchandise at discounts to regular department and specialty store prices.

Ross Stores also operates dd’s DISCOUNTS, a chain focused on value-oriented apparel, accessories, footwear, and home products. Both retail formats generally purchase merchandise opportunistically from manufacturers, department stores, and other suppliers, allowing the company to offer changing assortments and discounted prices.

Founded in 1950, Ross Stores serves customers across the United States through its store network and e-commerce presence.