Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Decreases Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,202 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 18,473 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $14,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $154.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $145.31 and its 200 day moving average is $145.11.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROST. Citigroup lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.69.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.