iA Global Asset Management Inc. Acquires 9,565 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management increased its stake in Ross Stores by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,565 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 47,442 shares worth about $8.55 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted positions in the retailer, and institutional ownership remains high at 86.86% of the company’s stock.
• Ross Stores reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.00 versus $1.90 expected and revenue of $6.64 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.445 per share.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,442 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 9,565 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Guardian Capital LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $307,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 24,656 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $4,442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,563 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 158,065 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $28,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 23,838 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $4,294,000 after purchasing an additional 7,753 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,072 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $208.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $200.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $213.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the sale, the director owned 2,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,147.67. This trade represents a 46.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $212.75 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $68.54 billion, a PE ratio of 32.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $218.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.21. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.49 and a 12-month high of $231.16.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 36.70% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 26.93%.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc NASDAQ: ROST is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross's business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.

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