Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 576,424 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 38,970 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of Ross Stores worth $88,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new stake in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $514,000. Summitry LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 352,879 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $53,380,000 after purchasing an additional 6,871 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,557 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. First American Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 34,473 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Ross Stores by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 850,876 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $128,712,000 after buying an additional 198,308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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Ross Stores Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROST traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $127.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,518,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,556,765. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $137.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.77. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.36 and a 1 year high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.95 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This is a boost from Ross Stores's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ROST. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total transaction of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 7,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total value of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% 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.