Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,183 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 515.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,756,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $243,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,585 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,585,000 after purchasing an additional 975,190 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth about $102,083,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Ross Stores by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,722,885 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $653,600,000 after purchasing an additional 601,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 27.8% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,814,440 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $263,675,000 after buying an additional 394,774 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several research reports. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.1 %

ROST stock opened at $154.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.14. The company has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.35 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 24.79%.

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.