Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stake Lifted by Cibc World Markets Corp

Cibc World Markets Corp increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 135.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 123,824 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,203 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,127,802,000 after buying an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,222,915,000 after acquiring an additional 34,475 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,812,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,025,309,000 after acquiring an additional 316,652 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates raised its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% in the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,337,000 after acquiring an additional 14,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROST. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock opened at $125.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.34. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.77 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $41.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

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.