Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 32,846 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 65.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 83,214 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,846 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $12,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROST. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 4.0% during the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kintegral Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.0% during the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $153.29 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $145.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.83. The firm has a market cap of $50.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.