Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Stake Lifted by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,629 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 5,245 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $26,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,411,000. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,790,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 84.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 227,340 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $34,645,000 after purchasing an additional 104,270 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 6.0% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 130,610 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $19,904,000 after purchasing an additional 7,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. acquired a new stake in Ross Stores during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,542,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 15,813 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.91, for a total transaction of $3,398,371.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 116,028 shares in the company, valued at $24,935,577.48. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Karen Sykes sold 5,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.40, for a total transaction of $1,174,980.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 104,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,331,883.20. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 25,756 shares of company stock worth $5,521,004 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $215.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $221.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $205.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.06.

Ross Stores Stock Down 0.2%

ROST stock opened at $225.08 on Thursday. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.49 and a 12-month high of $230.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $72.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $214.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.48.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.10. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 36.70%. The company had revenue of $6.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Ross Stores's payout ratio is currently 26.93%.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc NASDAQ: ROST is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross's business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.