California Public Employees Retirement System Boosts Position in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 570,626 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,078 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.18% of Ross Stores worth $86,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 162.6% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Ross Stores by 152.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 257 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total value of $546,753.96. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 103,945 shares in the company, valued at $22,234,874.95. The trade was a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $207.96 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $67.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.97. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $216.80.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ROST shares. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Barclays raised their target price on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $214.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, December 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.29.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.