Investment Management Corp of Ontario Has $1.67 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 46.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,067 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 91.1% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 3,664 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP lifted its position in Ross Stores by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 82,274 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $12,383,000 after purchasing an additional 13,019 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,378,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 667.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,324 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,812,000 after buying an additional 22,026 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,971,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ROST stock traded up $2.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $156.61. 2,884,327 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,337,405. The company has a market capitalization of $51.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.10. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.53 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $145.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

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

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.