Bank of Montreal Can Sells 53,585 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 482,386 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 53,585 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $73,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PGGM Investments increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 724.1% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 21,833 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Ross Stores by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after buying an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 63,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $9,260,000 after buying an additional 18,685 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 917.2% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,440,000 after acquiring an additional 26,598 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $397,747,000 after acquiring an additional 254,720 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $154.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $145.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.98.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 23.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

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

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.