Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Acquires 76,450 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 540,512 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 76,450 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $78,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ ROST opened at $154.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.35 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $147.23 and a 200-day moving average of $143.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 24.79%.

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.