Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Position Boosted by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,321 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 10,410 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROST. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 44,822 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $6,780,000 after buying an additional 4,334 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,086 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,526,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 19,644 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,972,000 after acquiring an additional 1,979 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $272,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,836 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.7%

ROST traded up $0.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $139.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,225,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,710,336. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $139.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $45.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Ross Stores's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 25.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $161.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.67.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.