Black Diamond Financial LLC Invests $206,000 in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Black Diamond Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,420 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,916,192 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,243,740,000 after purchasing an additional 346,474 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,931,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $682,511,000 after buying an additional 161,202 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Ross Stores by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $653,600,000 after acquiring an additional 601,031 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $523,185,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,310,364 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $481,062,000 after acquiring an additional 347,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $155.25 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.35 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $146.85 and a 200-day moving average of $142.94.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.71.

Ross Stores 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.