Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Purchases 120,778 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Ross Stores by 76.0%, acquiring an additional 120,778 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.09% of the company.
• Ross Stores reported $1.56 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, while the company’s revenue rose 4.6% year-over-year to $5.53 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.1%, with the ex-dividend date set to September 9th.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 76.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,795 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 120,778 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.09% of Ross Stores worth $35,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 50.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in Ross Stores by 372.5% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 36.6% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.89 on Friday, reaching $147.16. 2,633,607 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,327,832. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.11. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $158.69. The company's 50 day moving average is $138.06 and its 200-day moving average is $137.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.67.

About Ross Stores

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.