Note 5 - Investment Securities

3 Months Ended

May 28, 2016

Notes to Financial Statements

Investments in Debt and Marketable Equity Securities (and Certain Trading Assets) Disclosure [Text Block]

5) Investment Securities

The Company’s investment securities as of May 28, 2016 and February 27, 2016 are as follows:

(in millions)	May 28, 2016		February 27, 2016
Available-for-sale securities:
Long term	$	19.4	$	19.8
Trading securities:
Long term		59.0		51.5
Held-to-maturity securities:
Short term		22.5		86.2
Total investment securities	$	100.9	$	157.5

Auction Rate Securities

As of May 28, 2016 and February 27, 2016, the Company’s long term available-for-sale investment securities represented approximately $20.3 million par value of auction rate securities, respectively, consisting of preferred shares of closed end municipal bond funds, less temporary valuation adjustments of approximately $0.9 million and $0.5 million, respectively. Since these valuation adjustments are deemed to be temporary, they are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of a related tax benefit, and did not affect the Company’s net earnings.

U.S. Treasury Securities

As of May 28, 2016 and February 27, 2016, the Company’s short term held-to-maturity securities included approximately $22.5 million and $86.2 million of U.S. Treasury Bills with remaining maturities of less than one year. These securities are stated at their amortized cost which approximates fair value, which is based on quoted prices in active markets for identical instruments (i.e., Level 1 valuation).

Long Term Trading Investment Securities

The Company’s long term trading investment securities, which are provided as investment options to the participants of the nonqualified deferred compensation plan, are stated at fair market value. The values of these trading investment securities included in the table above are approximately $59.0 million and $51.5 million as of May 28, 2016 and February 27, 2016, respectively.