CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Grows Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 417,707 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 11,724 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.13% of Ross Stores worth $63,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROST. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $649,318,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $360,204,000 after buying an additional 2,352,543 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $230,204,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $173,329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 137.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $299,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.87.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ROST stock traded up $0.73 on Wednesday, hitting $138.62. 787,140 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,658,947. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $133.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.71. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio 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.