National Pension Service Has $41.61 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

National Pension Service lowered its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST – Get Rating) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 495,137 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 7,820 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $41,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $87,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter valued at $200,000. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 20,004 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 12,174 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 163,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $14,826,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

NASDAQ ROST opened at $103.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $114.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.46. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.24 and a 52-week high of $122.44.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The apparel retailer reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 36.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 13th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 30.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 20,529 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.37, for a total transaction of $2,306,843.73. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 127,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,345,041.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $112.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $119.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $116.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.59.

Ross Stores Profile

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Ross Stores, Inc engages in the operation of off-price retail apparel and home accessories stores. Its products include branded and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions through the Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brands. The company was founded by Stuart G. Moldaw in 1957 and is headquartered in Dublin, CA.