Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) Holdings Boosted by Cinctive Capital Management LP

Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 18.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 82,274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,019 shares during the quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $12,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Ross Stores by 271.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 42,194 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,192,000 after buying an additional 30,822 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ross Stores by 40.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,074 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ross Stores in the 2nd quarter worth about $278,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,192 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 103,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total value of $2,266,099.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 11,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 57.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.69.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $154.87 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.53 and a 52-week high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio is 23.15%.

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.