Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 1,301 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 46,853 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 37,077 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,442,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $535,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.4% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 12,534 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,839,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $142.04 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.75. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.73 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America boosted 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. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.88.

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.