Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Trims Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd cut its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,378 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 458.0% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 52.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 240 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Rock Creek Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total transaction of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 8.1 %

Shares of ROST traded up $10.73 on Friday, hitting $142.59. 978,750 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,127,534. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $136.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.42. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.66 and a 1 year high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.