7,315 Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Sold by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. lessened its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,707 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 7,315 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,938,711,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $3,116,902,000 after buying an additional 734,009 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $2,024,203,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $1,937,995,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in 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 buying an additional 3,118,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

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

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of ROST stock opened at $241.27 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $77.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.87. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $157.73 and a 1-year high of $257.00.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $262.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $260.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Evercore set a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank restated a “buy” rating and set a $294.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.72.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc. is an off-price retailer operating Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS. Its stores offer name-brand and designer merchandise at discounted prices, with product selection and availability varying by location and season. Ross Dress for Less sells apparel, footwear, accessories, home fashions, furnishings, and other merchandise for the whole family. dd’s DISCOUNTS offers a similar off-price assortment, including clothing, shoes, home goods, and related products. The company traces its origins to a department store founded in San Bruno, California, in 1950.