Heartland Bank & Trust Co Decreases Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co reduced its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,076 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 77 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the first quarter worth about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROST. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $145.24 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $149.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $48.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.39 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its 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 the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

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.