Bank of Montreal Can Raises Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 317,383 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,485 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.10% of Ross Stores worth $48,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the second quarter worth $1,265,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth $7,949,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,411,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Ross Stores by 84.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $34,645,000 after acquiring an additional 104,270 shares during the period. Finally, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $4,790,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $209.84 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $216.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $195.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.81.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ROST. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Ross Stores from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price objective on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group raised Ross Stores from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $220.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.29.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 1,881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.13, for a total value of $400,897.53. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,159 shares in the company, valued at $460,147.67. The trade was a 46.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 2,556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.91, for a total value of $546,753.96. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 103,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,234,874.95. This represents a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: ROST) is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross’s business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.