Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $117.12 Million Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 778,178 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 12,509 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Ross Stores worth $117,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PGGM Investments raised its position in Ross Stores by 724.1% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,611,000 after acquiring an additional 21,833 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 140.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $68,106,000 after purchasing an additional 270,844 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 47.5% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Ross Stores by 8.1% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 547,710 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $80,382,000 after purchasing an additional 41,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 19.3% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 30,919 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $4,538,000 after buying an additional 4,992 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ ROST traded up $2.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $143.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,589,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,262,263. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $146.59 and a 200 day moving average of $144.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Ross Stores, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.73 and a twelve month high of $163.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.09.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.09. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 23.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Ross Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Ross Stores from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.00.

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.