iA Global Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 51.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 48,652 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 51,390 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $7,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 262.1% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 210 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $156.48. 3,692,153 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,192,596. The company has a market cap of $51.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $145.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.