Intact Investment Management Inc. Buys Shares of 16,300 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 16,300 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,466,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 8,209.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,381,201 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $360,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352,543 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $230,204,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Ross Stores by 64.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $173,329,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Ross Stores by 137.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,976,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $299,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,774 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ROST stock opened at $124.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.77 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Company 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.