Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 576,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 38,970 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.17% of Ross Stores worth $88,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROST. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ROST. Barclays set a $150.00 target price on Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 1.1 %

ROST stock opened at $129.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $138.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.03. The stock has a market cap of $42.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.36 and a twelve month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. 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 yield of 1.25%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.63%.

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.