Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stock Position Raised by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 478.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 400,204 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 331,007 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.12% of Ross Stores worth $60,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ROST shares. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. The trade was a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ:ROST traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $154.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,323,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,337,848. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.44. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.53 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores's payout ratio is 23.15%.

About Ross Stores

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.