Circle Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Circle Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,173 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 598 shares during the period. Circle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PGGM Investments raised its position in Ross Stores by 724.1% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 21,833 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 47.5% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 917.2% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,440,000 after acquiring an additional 26,598 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 63,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $9,260,000 after acquiring an additional 18,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $397,747,000 after purchasing an additional 254,720 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ROST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $154.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $145.32 and a 200 day moving average of $145.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $51.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released 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 company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given 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 presently 23.15%.

Ross Stores Company 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.