Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys 45,000 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 311.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,446 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $360,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,543 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $230,204,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $581,373,000 after buying an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $173,329,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays set a $150.00 price target on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $130.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $135.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.03. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. This is an increase 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 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.