Nomura Holdings Inc. Boosts Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 28,468 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position 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 worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 83,619 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $12,649,000 after buying an additional 2,385 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 95,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $14,503,000 after buying an additional 37,800 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 802,387 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $121,377,000 after buying an additional 203,692 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its position in Ross Stores by 114.0% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 103,799 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $15,702,000 after acquiring an additional 55,304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROST. Barclays increased their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.53.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $151.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $49.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $135.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.51. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.