UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Buys 2,740 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,182 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,740 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $3,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 33,859 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,122,000 after purchasing an additional 4,414 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Ross Stores by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 576,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $88,930,000 after buying an additional 38,970 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter worth approximately $514,000. Summitry LLC raised its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 352,879 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $53,380,000 after acquiring an additional 6,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,557 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research 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 for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $956,653.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:ROST opened at $125.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 25.63%.

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.