Griffin Asset Management Inc. Buys 280 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,611 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Ross Stores by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 961 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 4,236 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of Ross Stores 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded down $1.43 on Thursday, hitting $152.52. 3,090,318 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,223,601. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $145.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.35 and a 1-year high of $157.85.

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

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ROST. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $176.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.13.

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.