Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Position Cut by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,243 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $360,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.7% in the first quarter. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America now owns 1,529 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. TrimTabs Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 89.2% in the first quarter. TrimTabs Asset Management LLC now owns 1,646 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 776 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter worth about $112,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 39.1% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.4% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,868 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.20% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) traded down 1.25% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $53.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,912,508 shares. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.26 and a 200-day moving average of $62.21. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.85 and a 12 month high of $69.81. The company has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores also saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors bought 7,510 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,008% compared to the average daily volume of 678 put options.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The apparel retailer reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.27 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.56% and a net margin of 8.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post $3.16 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.92%.

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A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $65.00 target price on Ross Stores and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. BidaskClub upgraded Ross Stores from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Zacks Investment Research lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 target price (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.41.

In other Ross Stores news, Director Sharon D. Garrett sold 16,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total transaction of $1,019,899.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,967 shares in the company, valued at $314,063.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc and its subsidiaries operate two brands of off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores-Ross Dress for Less (Ross) and dd’s DISCOUNTS. The Company is the off-price apparel and home fashion chain in the United States, with 1,340 locations in 36 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, as of January 28, 2017.