Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) is Sather Financial Group Inc’s 6th Largest Position

Sather Financial Group Inc trimmed its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 434,861 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,561 shares during the period. Ross Stores accounts for about 4.2% of Sather Financial Group Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Sather Financial Group Inc’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $65,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 666,450 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,307,000 after acquiring an additional 54,037 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,998 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,787,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 103,567 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $15,588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 15,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $140.69 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $119.73 and a one year high of $163.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $146.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $46.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.71%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.