Magnetar Financial LLC Sells 14,716 Shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Magnetar Financial LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 88.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 3,910 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 473 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 662 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROST. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $178.00) on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ 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. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.36 and a 12 month high of $163.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.63. The stock has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by 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.