Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 135,797 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Ross Stores by 18.5% in the 1st quarter, holding approximately 0.18% of the company with a value of $76.5 million.
• Analysts have shown strong optimism for Ross Stores, with twelve analysts rating it as a Buy and raising their target prices, indicating potential growth for the stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.405 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 25.71%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 18.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 598,743 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 135,797 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.18% of Ross Stores worth $76,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROST. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 372.5% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 241 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROST. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.67.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.4%

ROST stock traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $152.81. 2,542,714 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,255,314. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $49.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $139.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.71. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $158.69.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 37.37%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

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.