Jennison Associates LLC Has $32.90 Million Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 218,557 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 439 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $32,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Ross Stores by 3.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,440,272 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $517,795,000 after acquiring an additional 129,908 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,737,042 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $397,747,000 after purchasing an additional 254,720 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 15.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,477,142 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $359,991,000 after buying an additional 331,996 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ross Stores by 68.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,391,856 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $347,585,000 after buying an additional 975,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 3.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,131,529 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $312,756,000 after buying an additional 69,085 shares during the period. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at $48,003,532.29. This represents a 13.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 8,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $1,302,084.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 103,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,038,546.36. This trade represents a 7.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,138 shares of company stock valued at $11,093,051 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ross Stores Trading Up 2.4 %

ROST stock opened at $142.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $145.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.43. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.53 and a fifty-two 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 42.43%. Ross Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is 23.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ROST. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their target price on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $185.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.50.

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.