Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,361 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,499 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in Ross Stores by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 2.4% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Kintegral Advisory LLC increased its position in Ross Stores by 3.0% during the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $153.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.57. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $127.53 and a one year high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $145.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.83.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction 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 trade was a 7.51 % 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ROST shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.69.

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.