Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,361 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 6,499 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $9,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,986 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.0% in the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 5.2% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,735 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 2.4% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Kintegral Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Ross Stores by 3.0% in the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ROST. Barclays raised their target price on Ross Stores from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $154.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,742,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,337,442. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $145.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.53 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $51.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.13 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,694,665.26. The trade was a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.