D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $6.89 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 45,759 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.3 %

ROST opened at $154.89 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $145.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $51.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

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.