Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,407 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 783 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 6,286 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,077,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Ross Stores by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,539 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,725,000 after purchasing an additional 19,031 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 is available through this link. In other Ross Stores news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 is available through this link. Also, insider Michael K. Kobayashi sold 13,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.46, for a total transaction of $2,043,795.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,941.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,396,178. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ ROST traded up $1.67 on Friday, reaching $133.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 329,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,972,195. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $151.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of $45.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $142.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.44%.

Ross Stores declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.