Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Purchases 6,659 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,688 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,659 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $17,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.70, for a total transaction of $672,979.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 93,126 shares in the company, valued at $11,892,190.20. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,868,364. The trade was a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,567 shares of company stock valued at $2,812,024 over the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $127.28 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $140.18 and its 200-day moving average is $141.11. The stock has a market cap of $41.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.14. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 38.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROST. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup upgraded Ross Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $146.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.53.

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.