Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 520 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,557 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROST. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ROST shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Ross Stores stock opened at $129.09 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $42.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.36 and a 1-year high of $163.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $138.28 and a 200-day moving average of $145.03.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Company 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.