Bank of Montreal Can Sells 48,620 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 433,766 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 48,620 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $65,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 236,262 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,739,000 after acquiring an additional 25,970 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 311.5% during the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 59,446 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,992,000 after acquiring an additional 45,000 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 119,800 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $18,122,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,747 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 2,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROST. StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.67.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $137.00 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company has a market cap of $45.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The business 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.