Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Position Boosted by Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc.

Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,198 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 46.3% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 11,067 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,666,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 91.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 3,664 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 18.8% during the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 82,274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $12,383,000 after purchasing an additional 13,019 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at $1,378,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 667.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,324 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,812,000 after purchasing an additional 22,026 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’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 value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.7 %

Ross Stores stock opened at $153.72 on Wednesday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.69.

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.