Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 73,774 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 426,704 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,774 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $64,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at $5,647,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 4th quarter worth $649,318,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,252 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 40,164 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,076,000 after acquiring an additional 7,680 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ross Stores Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of ROST opened at $125.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The company 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. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.85.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost 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 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, 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 transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. The trade was a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.40.

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.