Cibc World Markets Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 135.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 123,824 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 71,203 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Remove Ads

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock traded down $1.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $123.54. The company had a trading volume of 6,659,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,424,345. The company has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.65 and a twelve month high of $163.60. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.40.

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.