Swiss National Bank Reduces Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Swiss National Bank cut its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 990,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.30% of Ross Stores worth $149,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 179,632 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,036,000 after purchasing an additional 18,801 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 64.2% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,039 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 666,450 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,307,000 after purchasing an additional 54,037 shares during the period. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,998 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $140.69 on Monday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.73 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $46.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $146.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. Ross Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROST. Barclays upped their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.00.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.