BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Decreases Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp trimmed its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 55,654 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 8,565 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $8,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 271.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 42,194 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $6,192,000 after purchasing an additional 30,822 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 40.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,074 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth about $278,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 35.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 26.4% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,192 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST traded up $1.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $156.36. 3,351,209 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,337,414. The stock has a market cap of $51.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $145.32 and a 200-day moving average of $145.44. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business 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 business's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. 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, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.69.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

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