Magnetar Financial LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Magnetar Financial LLC lowered its position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 88.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,973 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 14,716 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc lifted its position in Ross Stores by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ross Stores by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This trade represents a 5.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of ROST opened at $123.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.63. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is an increase from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reduced their price target 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

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.