Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,013 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $87,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $200,000. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 20,004 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 12,174 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 163,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $14,826,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $131.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.41. The stock has a market cap of $44.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROST. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.21.

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.