Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 792,637 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 14,459 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Ross Stores worth $119,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Ross Stores by 434.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock traded down $1.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $139.55. 1,887,977 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,316,614. The company has a market cap of $46.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50 day moving average is $150.50 and its 200 day moving average is $148.01. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.53 and a 12-month high of $163.60. 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 (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.06.

Ross Stores Company 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.