Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys 2,112 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,468 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $4,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROST. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ross Stores by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,515,891 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,952,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,287,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,250,423,000 after purchasing an additional 135,117 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,620,083 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,152,690,000 after purchasing an additional 807,850 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the fourth quarter worth $649,318,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,805,427 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $575,647,000 after buying an additional 154,486 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $151.89 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $135.16 and its 200 day moving average is $142.51. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The stock has a market cap of $49.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. 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) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. Research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 25.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ROST. Barclays boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.53.

Insider Activity

In other Ross Stores news, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 11,261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.60, for a total transaction of $1,481,947.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 59,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,868,364. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $127.69, for a total transaction of $956,653.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 139,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,760,529.79. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,398 shares of company stock valued at $4,439,950. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.