Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $64.55 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 426,704 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 73,774 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.13% of Ross Stores worth $64,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST opened at $125.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.85. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given 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 is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.