Bank of Nova Scotia Trims Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. by 64.7%, now owning 90,572 shares after selling 166,324 shares during the 1st quarter, valued at $11,574,000.
• Several large investors have increased their stakes in Ross Stores, with Price T Rowe Associates Inc. boosting their stake by 25.7% and Royal Bank of Canada by 69.6% in the fourth quarter.
• Ross Stores recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 25.59%.

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 64.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,572 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 166,324 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $11,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores by 274.3% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 14,998 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,276,799 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $193,141,000 after purchasing an additional 377,554 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at about $328,000. Finally, Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,516,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $4.76 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $146.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,954,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,413,213. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.35. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five 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, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.06.

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.