Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Position Raised by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 29.1% during Q1, resulting in a total of 46,159 shares worth approximately $5.9 million.
• Several institutional investors have raised their positions in Ross Stores, with Bayforest Capital Ltd. boosting its stake by 372.5% in the same quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Ross Stores' stock, with a consensus target price of $159.06 and various price targets adjusted both upward and downward in recent analyses.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 29.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,159 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 274.3% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,466 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,096,000 after acquiring an additional 14,998 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 42.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at about $328,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $8,516,000. Finally, Aurora Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the first quarter worth about $1,476,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST traded down $1.40 on Thursday, hitting $145.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,107,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,450,395. The company has a market capitalization of $47.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The stock's 50-day moving average is $134.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.38.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ROST. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $159.06.

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.