Atria Investments Inc Sells 1,461 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Atria Investments Inc lessened its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,157 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,461 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 97.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $142.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $47.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.73 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. 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 note on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.00.

About Ross Stores

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.