Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Acquired by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 141,524 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,836 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $18,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the first quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,458 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,359,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Grant Conroy sold 39,351 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $5,745,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,944,338. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.76, for a total transaction of $607,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 106,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,149,236.88. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,720 shares of company stock worth $7,761,212. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $156.75 on Friday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $158.69. The stock has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $150.62 and a 200 day moving average of $142.79.

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

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 9th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is 25.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ROST shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $146.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.33.

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.

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