Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,237 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased 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 valued at $41,832,000 after purchasing an additional 16,167 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the 3rd quarter worth $503,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at $2,291,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Ross Stores by 4.7% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 673,713 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $76,096,000 after purchasing an additional 30,056 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the third quarter worth about $8,322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $144.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $131.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores 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 transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,941.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larree M. Renda sold 4,168 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.89, for a total transaction of $616,405.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,219.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores 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.