7,717 Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Bought by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,882 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,717 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $19,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at $5,938,711,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Ross Stores by 5.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,643,656 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,116,902,000 after purchasing an additional 734,009 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $2,024,203,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $1,937,995,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 89.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,615,682 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,408,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

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

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $245.74 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $157.73 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.71. The company has a market cap 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The apparel retailer reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 39.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a $0.4450 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $265.00 to $258.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. UBS Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $272.06.

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.