Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Sold by Voya Financial Advisors Inc.

Voya Financial Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 16.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,551 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Voya Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $156.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.53 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $145.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.88.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital upped their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen cut their price objective 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.