Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $3.75 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,567 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,527 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American International Group Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 124,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $17,219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after buying an additional 7,033 shares in the last quarter. HTLF Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,094,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Ross Stores by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $41,832,000 after buying an additional 16,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its stake in Ross Stores by 232.6% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 32,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,454,000 after acquiring an additional 22,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ROST. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.06.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded down $0.20 on Friday, hitting $140.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,853,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,126,816. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.06 and a 200 day moving average of $141.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.08. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $153.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 24.79%.

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.