Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 18.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 349,867 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 76,850 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $81,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 1,047 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,026 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,283,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,919 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 10,557 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, insider Stephen Brinkley sold 6,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,865,383.90. This represents a 11.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Conroy sold 49,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,830,408.52. This represents a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $245.74 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $230.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.85. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $157.73 and a 52 week high of $257.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.61.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.4450 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ross Stores from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group raised Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.06.

About Ross Stores

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.