MU Investments Co. Ltd. Reduces Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

MU Investments Co. Ltd. cut its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,630 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Ross Stores accounts for 3.7% of MU Investments Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. MU Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Ellevest Inc. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 142.9% in the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 656.0% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 378 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. 84.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $113.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.00.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.9 %

Ross Stores stock traded down $1.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $116.63. The company had a trading volume of 583,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,299,016. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.21 and a 12-month high of $122.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $115.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The apparel retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.75 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 37.36%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 1st. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 28.39%.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 25,945 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total transaction of $3,153,095.85. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 67,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,146,520.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 25,945 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total value of $3,153,095.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 67,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,146,520.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 23,254 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.02, for a total transaction of $2,790,945.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 282,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,866,163.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 69,199 shares of company stock valued at $8,325,441. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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 primarily to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.