Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,199 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 543 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.1% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,787,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Ross Stores by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 103,567 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $15,588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,235 shares in the last quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 15,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 3.8% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 14,585 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,195,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 13.0% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Down 1.2 %

ROST stock opened at $140.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.32. The stock has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.73 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued 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%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.00.

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.