Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 583 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,795 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 583 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 42.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 63,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $9,260,000 after buying an additional 18,685 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,041 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 135.2% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,233 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,557,000 after acquiring an additional 13,931 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 37,844.4% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,830 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 6,812 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the first quarter valued at $16,130,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In related news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % 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 company insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.3 %

ROST stock opened at $154.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $51.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.05. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.53 and a 1-year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five research 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, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

About Ross Stores

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.