Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Increases Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 62.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 734,540 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 281,707 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $111,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,983 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ross Stores from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.87.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $139.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $133.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.94. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

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.