Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,513 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 396 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,094,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $41,832,000 after buying an additional 16,167 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,291,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 673,713 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $76,096,000 after acquiring an additional 30,056 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total value of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ROST shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Ross Stores from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $133.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $151.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

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.