Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Buys 85 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the second quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $142.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $47.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.73 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.71%.

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.