iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $5.41 Million Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 26.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,759 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 12,893 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $5,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $295,857,000 after buying an additional 151,255 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $392,000. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,639 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,462,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $124.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $41.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.77 and a fifty-two week 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.