BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Decreases Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lowered its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,654 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 8,565 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after buying an additional 316,652 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 3.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,440,272 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $517,795,000 after acquiring an additional 129,908 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 10.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $397,747,000 after acquiring an additional 254,720 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 15.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,477,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $359,991,000 after purchasing an additional 331,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,585,000 after purchasing an additional 975,190 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ROST. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.69.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $154.87 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.44. The company has a market capitalization of $51.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Ross Stores Company 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.