Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. Invests $32,000 in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 220 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $32,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $523,185,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 515.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $243,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,585 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 1,437.1% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,026,367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $142,039,000 after purchasing an additional 959,594 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at $102,083,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $653,600,000 after buying an additional 601,031 shares in the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $150.61. 2,287,787 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,244,937. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.55. The firm has a market cap of $50.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.08.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ROST. Loop Capital raised their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.71.

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.