Cumberland Partners Ltd Buys Shares of 6,500 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 6,500 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $954,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,569,718 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,953,763,000 after purchasing an additional 381,790 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,931,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $682,511,000 after buying an additional 161,202 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $653,600,000 after buying an additional 601,031 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $523,185,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,085,590 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $452,841,000 after acquiring an additional 78,423 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.00 on Friday, reaching $143.50. 3,550,702 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,144,261. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.08. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.35 and a 52-week high of $153.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $143.12 and a 200-day moving average of $141.45.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $130,206.17. Following the sale, the director now owns 973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,634.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.06.

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.