Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Buys 281,707 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 62.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 734,540 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 281,707 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.22% of Ross Stores worth $111,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $360,204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,352,543 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth $230,204,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $173,329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $139.00. The stock had a trading volume of 703,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,630. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $133.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is an increase from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued 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 $160.87.

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.