Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 1,144,774 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 137.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.60% of Ross Stores worth $299,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,929 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $154.25 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $148.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores 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.