Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $64.55 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 426,704 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 73,774 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.13% of Ross Stores worth $64,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,137,281 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,127,802,000 after buying an additional 67,861 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ross Stores by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,152,045 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,222,915,000 after acquiring an additional 34,475 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ross Stores during the 4th quarter valued at about $649,318,000. Marshfield Associates increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 3,908,958 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $588,337,000 after purchasing an additional 14,193 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Ross Stores by 64.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,862,684 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,922 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target 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. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a "negative" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Ross Stores Stock Performance

ROST stock traded up $2.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $127.79. 3,318,252 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,563,517. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $137.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.77. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

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

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.