Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Acquired by Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 74,213 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,918 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $11,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 28,468 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 244.1% in the 4th quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 5,124 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 83,619 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $12,649,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 95,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $14,503,000 after purchasing an additional 37,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 802,387 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $121,377,000 after purchasing an additional 203,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $166.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.48, for a total transaction of $657,097.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,365 shares in the company, valued at $14,400,425.20. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total value of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,398 shares of company stock worth $4,439,950 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $150.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50-day moving average is $134.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.45. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

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.