Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $6.54 Million Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,237 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $6,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 302,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $41,832,000 after buying an additional 16,167 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the third quarter worth about $503,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth about $2,291,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Ross Stores by 4.7% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 673,713 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $76,096,000 after acquiring an additional 30,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,322,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,567,164.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 62,711 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ross Stores news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,806. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $3,056,067.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,616,788.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROST. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.21.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $131.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $151.12. The company has a market capitalization of $44.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.41.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is currently 26.44%.

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.