EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. Has $385.02 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,545,273 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 48,051 shares during the quarter. Ross Stores comprises about 3.0% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $385,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Ross Stores by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,952,170,000 after buying an additional 3,995,760 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $575,647,000 after purchasing an additional 154,486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This trade represents a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $143.39 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $133.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.37. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm has a market cap of $47.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Ross Stores 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.