USS Investment Management Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 459.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,070 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,470 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $11,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,014,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $409,000. Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 6,466 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP boosted its position in Ross Stores by 125.1% in the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 336,574 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $50,914,000 after purchasing an additional 187,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 257.7% in the 4th quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 30,348 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,591,000 after purchasing an additional 21,864 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.53.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $154.24 on Wednesday. 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 $122.36 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $50.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $136.81 and a 200-day moving average of $142.83.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total value of $657,097.28. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,400,425.20. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.