Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp lessened its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 678,686 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 11,284 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.20% of Ross Stores worth $102,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $144.22. 1,565,117 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,222,831. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $112.39 and a 1 year high of $163.60. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.42. The firm has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Ross Stores Company 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.