Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Stake Increased by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. by 4.9%, owning 103,231 shares valued at approximately $13.15 million.
• Several hedge funds have also significantly increased their positions in Ross Stores, with Callan Family Office LLC boosting its stake by 143.8% during the same period.
• Ross Stores reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.47 for the last quarter, surpassing the estimated $1.44 EPS and indicating a 2.6% revenue increase year-over-year.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,231 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $13,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Callan Family Office LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 143.8% during the first quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 35,898 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,587,000 after purchasing an additional 21,174 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 26.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,734 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,522,000 after acquiring an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.6% during the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,505 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. First American Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.9% during the first quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 34,796 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $4,447,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the first quarter valued at $122,043,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROST has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $157.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.06.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST stock opened at $150.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $134.95 and a 200-day moving average of $137.34. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $122.36 and a one year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.59%.

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.

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