Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Has $10.37 Million Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST

Key Points

• Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its stake in Ross Stores by 9.3%, now holding 81,139 shares valued at approximately $10.37 million.
• Numerous institutional investors, including Baird Financial Group Inc. and Cetera Investment Advisers, significantly adjusted their positions in Ross Stores, indicating robust interest among hedge funds.
• Analysts have generally rated Ross Stores positively, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of about $160.67.

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,139 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 6,926 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $10,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 8.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 256,120 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,728,000 after buying an additional 20,216 shares during the period. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth about $1,001,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 59.3% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 4,055,088 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $518,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,815 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 70,121 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $8,961,000 after purchasing an additional 4,139 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $149.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,850,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,099,184. The stock has a market cap of $48.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.15. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $158.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $141.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.95.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 37.37% and a net margin of 9.60%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 9th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 25.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ROST. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 106,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.