Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 62,532 Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 62,532 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $9,412,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROST. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 30,788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,634,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,897,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at $2,462,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 13.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.4 %

ROST opened at $142.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $145.32 and its 200 day moving average is $144.43.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.50.

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.