Candriam S.C.A. Has $2.96 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,575 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 74,059 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $11,203,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $269,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,849 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,524,000 after buying an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after buying an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 71,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,881,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.07.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $135.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.49.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.