Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $18.13 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 120,484 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 6,831 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after buying an additional 975,190 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 4,787.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 629,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,783,000 after buying an additional 616,860 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 59.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,261,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $183,263,000 after buying an additional 469,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $263,675,000 after buying an additional 394,774 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $155.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $145.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.42. 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 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several research reports. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.69.

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.